Peru prepares third extradition
request for Fujimori
A third extradition request for
Peru's former president Alberto
Fujimori's return from Japan to
face charges in Lima was
presented Wednesday before the
Supreme Court.
The request was filed based on a
criminal complaint filed last
year, alleging Fujimori put air
force pilots' lives at risk by
authorizing irregular purchase
of outdated MIG-29 fighter jets
from Belarus in 1996 during a
border war with Ecuador,
judicial sources said.
The charges against Fujimori
also included counts of
conspiracy, illicit association,
misappropriation of funds and
embezzlement.
Fujimori, who ruled Peru between
1990 and 2000, has been livingin
Japan since he fled Peru in
November 2000 amid a corruption
scandal involving his former
presidential adviser and chief
of the intelligence services,
Vladimiro Montesinos.
Japan has refused twice to
extradite Fujimori, who holds
dual Peruvian-Japanese
citizenship.
The Supreme Court will have the
latest extradition request
translated into Japanese, and
then submit it to Peru's Foreign
Ministry to be delivered to
Japan.
In July 2003, the Peruvian
government handed over to Japan
the first extradition petition
against Fujimori on charges of
human rights abuses. A second
request was filed in October
this year based on Fujimori's
presumed delivery of an
indemnification of 15 million US
dollars to Montesinos.
The former president has denied
any wrongdoing. He claims to be
the target of political
persecution to prevent a
political comeback and says
mounting accusations against him
lack proof and credible
witnesses.
6,372 AIDS cases registered in
Panama: report
The number of registered AIDS
cases has reached 6,372 in
Panama, according to a report
released by the Health Ministry
on Wednesday.
The report said that among all
AIDS patients, 4,810 people or
75.5 percent are men, and 1,562
or 24.5 percent are women.
A total of 4,652 people, or 73
percent, have died, the report
added.
According to official figures,
about 21,000 to 22,000 people
have been tested HIV-positive.
Panama is the second country in
Central America with the largest
number of HIV-positive cases,
and is among the top 10 in Latin
America.
Gladys Guerrero, national
director of the HIV-AIDS Program
of the Health Ministry, said
Panama would spend 13 million US
dollars to combat the virus each
year. The money mainly comes
from government, private firms
and independent organizations.
An HIV patient will cost the
country 1,251 dollars in a
single year for anti-retrovirus
treatment, and if the patient
requires hospitalization, the
cost will be between 3,000 and
4,000 dollars a year.
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Mexico steps up campaign against
HIV/AIDS
Health authorities in Mexico
agreed to intensify the campaign
against HIV/AIDS on Wednesday,
the World AIDS Day, the Health
Ministry said.
The ministry said it had agreed
with several civil organizations
to promote the use of condoms
among high-risk sectors in order
to prevent the contagion of the
epidemic and other sexually
transmitted diseases.
To deal with HIV/AIDS, the
ministry said, preventive and
therapeutical measures are
needed simultaneously.
Recent official figures showed
that 90,043 Mexicans are
HIV-positive, but with those not
registered taken into
consideration, it is believed
that the real number could be as
high as 160,000.
According to the State-run
National Council for the
Prevention and Control of AIDS,
over 12,000 people died of the
disease from 1982 to October
2004.
The spread of the epidemic is to
some extent due to the lack of
education on sex, said Juan
Alvarez-Gayou, director of the
MexicanSexology Institute.
It is estimated that in Mexico
there are 107,000 sexual
workers, of which 400 are
HIV-positive.
Meanwhile, the disease also
causes a serious human rights
problem, said the National Human
Rights Commission.
It said that since its creation
it has received 634 cases of
HIV-positive who received poor
medical assistance, or none at
all,as well as offensive or
discriminating treatment, or
arbitrary isolation.
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