Peru's Cabinet has approved a dozen criminal cases against Alberto Fujimori, a key step toward formally requesting the former president be extradited from Chile to face charges including allegedly sanctioning two death squad massacres.
President Alejandro Toledo's Cabinet on Friday signed off on 12 of 17 cases against Fujimori, said Antonio Maldonado, Peru's anti-corruption attorney in charge of overseeing criminal cases against the former president now under arrest in Santiago, Chile.
The Supreme Court earlier this month prepared the 17 extradition charges against Fujimori that must be approved by the executive branch before Peru's Foreign Ministry presents them to the Chilean government.
Maldonado declined to say which charges had been approved during the special session in the government palace. He told reporters that the 16-member Cabinet had decided to send the other five criminal cases against Fujimori back to court officials for further review.
Foreign Minister Oscar Maurtua told the official newspaper El Peruano on Thursday that the Cabinet had called the "extraordinary session" so that a formal extradition request can be presented to Chilean authorities by a Jan. 6 deadline.
"The public can rest assured that Peru will deliver the cases," Maurtua said.
"I am sure we will make it on time," he said.
The cases include the killing of 25 people in two death squad massacres, illegal phone tapping, diversion of state funds to the intelligence service, bribing of politicians and the transfer of US$15 million to Fujimori's spy chief, Vladimiro Montesinos.
Fujimori has denied all the accusations, saying they're part of efforts to sabotage his plans to run again for the presidency.
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