Chile Weighs Releasing Fujimori
Chile´s Supreme Court is reviewing Thursday an appeal submitted by the attorneys for ex Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, who has been in detention here since November 2005, to be released on bail.

The request was rejected on Wednesday by Judge Orlando Alvarez, who is in charge of the process to extradite the former president (1990-2000) to Peru, where he faces 12 charges of corruption and human rights violations.

Fujimori was arrested shortly after his surprise arrival in Santiago on November 6, 2005, from Japan, where he had sought political asylum after a notorious scandal of corruption that forced him to resign to his post in 2000.

The defense attorneys want the Supreme Court to release Fujimori on bail or, in any case, give him home arrest until the process is over and Chilean justice makes a final decision.

The ex Peruvian president recently rented a luxury residence in Las Condes neighborhood, in this capital, to meet with his family if the court releases him on bail or gives him home arrest.

The extradition process might take six months or more, according to Chilean authorities and the defense attorneys.