FUJIMORI SENTENCED IN FOURTH CONVICTION

C O N F I D E N T I A L LIMA 001463 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/30/2019 TAGS: KJUS KCOR PHUM PE SUBJECT: FUJIMORI SENTENCED IN FOURTH CONVICTION REF: A. LIMA 1453 ¶B. LIMA 1053 ¶C. LIMA 517 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires James Nealon for reasons 1.4(b) and (d ). ¶1. (C) Summary. Former president Alberto Fujimori was sentenced on September 30 to six years (concurrent) in prison for eavesdropping and other corruption charges, and ordered to pay nearly $10 million in civil reparations. As he did in the preceding case (in July - refs),Fujimori plead guilty on the first day of the trial, ensuring an abbreviated process. Observers note aftershocks from Fujimori's eavesdropping legacy are still being felt today. End summary. ¶2. (C) Former president Alberto Fujimori was sentenced on September 30 to six years in prison for illegal eavesdropping, secretly purchasing a television station and newspaper, and bribing members of Congress to back his administration. He was also ordered to pay nearly $10 million in civil reparations to wiretapping victims. This is the fourth and final set of charges for which he was extradited from Chile in 2007. Because sentences are served concurrently in Peru, 25 years (from April's human rights conviction - refs) is the maximum time Fujimori would serve. ¶3. (C) As he did in the preceding case (in July - refs), Fujimori plead guilty on the first day of the trial (September 28),ensuring an abbreviated process. Prosecutors had lined up dozens of witnesses and victims of Fujimori's illegal wiretapping, including prominent author Mario Vargas Llosa and Fujimori's ex-wife, Susana Higuchi, but none testified, due to the guilty plea and shortened trial. Many analysts say Fujimori plead guilty in order to protect daughter Keiko Fujimori's 2011 presidential bid, but also because his being found guilty was all but a foregone conclusion. Keiko's promise to pardon her father if she wins the election has been a central theme in her campaign thus far. ¶4. (C) Comment: Observers note aftershocks from Fujimori's "chuponeo" (eavesdropping) legacy are still being felt today. Some say the widespread Fujimori-Montesinos wiretaps of the 1990s spawned a deep tradition of illegal eavesdropping on politicians and other prominent figures. The current, ongoing "Petroaudios" eavesdropping scandal features former Peruvian naval officers who provided wiretap services through their company, Business Track, and the most recent fallout was Housing Minister Francis Allison's resignation on September 27 for questionable ties to the company (refs). End Comment. MCKINLEY