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SANTIAGO - Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori lost an appeal on Thursday in his fight against extradition from Chile, bringing a long-awaited verdict in his case one step closer.
Defence lawyers for Fujimori, accused by Peru of embezzling US$15 million and of using excessive anti-terrorism measures during his 1990-2000 rule, had wanted the investigative phase of the case reopened to allow them to submit further evidence.
But a panel of five judges from Chile's supreme court rejected the appeal unanimously.
The decision means presiding Judge Orlando Alvarez can start considering evidence and judicial sources said they expected a decision in the second quarter of this year.
The Peruvian state wants to try Fujimori, 68, on human rights charges, including allegations of two massacres to crush Peru's Shining Path Maoist rebels.
He denies the charges.
The former president, who is of Japanese descent, fled Peru for Japan to avoid prosecution when his second term in office collapsed in a huge corruption scandal in 2000.
In November 2005, he flew from Japan to Chile, apparently to try to launch a political comeback in Peru, but was arrested on an international arrest warrant.
Peru's ties with Chile, traditionally frosty, have warmed this year and the two countries signed a bilateral trade deal. Chilean Foreign Minister Alejandro Foxley recently hailed "a historic turnaround in relations" between the neighbours.
- REUTERS
