1000s protest pardon of former dictator Alberto Fujimori in Peru

Thousands of people have marched in the Peruvian capital of Lima and other cities to protest the presidential pardon of the country’s ailing ex-strongman Alberto Fujimori, in what many view as part of a political deal to avert the impeachment of the current president.

Over 5,000 people took part in rallies across the country on Monday carrying placards that described the 79-year-old Fujimori as a “murderer” and “thief.”

Fujimori was serving a 25-year sentence for human rights abuses during his rule, including in a brutal campaign against the leftist Shining Path rebel group.

Peru’s President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski granted the pardon to the former president and seven other prisoners on “humanitarian” grounds, placing himself in the midst of yet another political controversy just three days after narrowly avoiding impeachment on corruption charges.