Health
Former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori hospitalized again
Fujimori was sentenced to 25 years in prison for crimes against humanity after being extradited from Chile in 2007
April 18, 2022 9:10am
Updated: April 19, 2022 1:51pm
Former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori was transferred to a clinic on Sunday after his health deteriorated due to tachycardia while in prison, authorities reported.
"On Sunday in the early hours of the morning, inmate Alberto Fujimori presented a decompensation condition and was evacuated to the EsSalud hospital in Ate Vitarte, where he was stabilized," announced the National Penitentiary Institute (INPE) through its Twitter account.
The doctors decided to transfer him to the Centenario Peruvian-Japanese Clinic "for his respective monitoring," added the INPE.
Posteriormente, a las 11 a. m., fue trasladado a la Clínica Centenario Peruano Japonés, para su respectivo monitoreo.
— INPE (@INPEgob) April 17, 2022
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Fujimori, 83, suffers from a heart condition called paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. He also has pulmonary fibrosis, which forces him to use oxygen, and has anxiety disorders, his lawyers reported, according to Telemundo 51.
A similar situation led to his emergency hospitalization on March 3, when he suffered a strong arrhythmia in prison that caused many to fear for his life. Eleven days later, he was released and returned to the police base.
Fujimori suffers from recurrent respiratory and neurological problems (facial paralysis) and hypertension.
The former Peruvian president (1990-2000), who has been serving a 25-year sentence since 2007, is considered a controversial figure in Peru today. As a conservative legislator, he introduced free-market reforms in his first term and ended a period of hyperinflation before launching a bloody military campaign against the Shining Path terrorist group.
In mid-March, Peru's highest Constitutional Court ruled that the former president should be released from prison, where he is serving his sentence after being convicted of human rights violations and corruption.
Fujimori's allies, including his daughter Keiko Fujimori—who has run three times for president—have said that the former president deserves a humanitarian pardon because of his poor health and old age.
