US embassy cable - 05LIMA2589

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LIMA 002589 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/08/2025 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, PINR, PREL, PE 
SUBJECT: FUJIMORI EXTRADITION CASE HAS PROBLEMS SAYS EXPERT 
 
REF: LIMA 530 
 
Classified By: A/DCM Alexander Margulies, Reason: 1.4 (d) 
 
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Summary: 
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1.  (C) The GOP's case to compel Japan to extradite former 
Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori is poorly organized and 
filled with errors, according to noted human rights lawyer 
and former Truth and Reconciliation Executive Secretary 
Javier Ciurlizza (strictly protect).  Foreign Minister 
Rodriguez has asked Ciurlizza to spearhead a working group to 
reorganize Peru's petition for extradition.  Ciurlizza is 
pessimistic that the case can prosper at this late date.  End 
Summary 
 
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A Botched Submission 
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2.  (C) The GOP's case to compel Japan to extradite former 
Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori is poorly organized and 
filled with errors, according to Javier Ciurlizza, a noted 
human rights lawyer who is former Executive Secretary for the 
Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and Professor of Human 
Rights at the Catholic University. 
 
3.  (C) Ciurlizza told Poloff on 6/7 that Foreign Minister 
Manuel Rodriguez had asked him to head a task force at the 
Foreign Ministry to reorganize the extradition case against 
former President Fujimori.  Rodriguez told Ciurlizza that the 
GOP was also hiring a top-notch Washington law firm to help 
with the case.  (Note: Ciurlizza could not identify the firm, 
but he said that it included prominent human rights expert 
and American University Professor Robert Goldman on its 
staff.  End Note.) 
 
4.  (C) Ciurlizza was dismayed when he reviewed the documents 
that the GOP had submitted to Japan.  He said the prosecutors 
had prepared their cases well, but the presentation to Japan 
had been botched by Peru's Supreme Court Justices.  Ciurlizza 
said their opinions were poorly organized and badly written, 
including some embarrassing spelling errors.  Ciurlizza 
speculated that some justices might not want the case to 
prosper since they feared retribution following what they saw 
as the increasingly possibility of Fujimori's return. 
 
5.  (C) Ciurlizza complained that the GOP appeared to have 
wasted two years in the extradition process.  He noted that 
two years ago as part of the wrap-up to his work on the Truth 
and Reconciliation Commission, he had given GOP officials a 
memo suggesting an extradition strategy.  At that time, he 
urged that extradition be based on international agreements 
Peru had ratified on money laundering and torture.  Having 
reviewed the current state of the case, Ciurlizza's 
impression was that given the lost time, the best course to 
follow now would be to for Peru to concede Fujimori's claim 
of Japanese nationality and try to compel the GOJ to 
prosecute him in Japan for alleged links to the Yakuza. 
 
6.  (C) Although he was wary about complying with Foreign 
Minister Rodriguez's request that he reorganize the Fujimori 
extradition case, Ciurlizza said he would probably accept the 
job because it was "the right thing to do."  Nevertheless, 
Ciurlizza was increasingly skeptical that the project would 
prosper, given the short remaining time for the Toledo 
administration.  (Note:  The Peruvian Foreign Ministry issued 
a press release on 6/7 noting that it had called in the 
Japanese Ambassador to express concern over the GOJ's delay 
in responding to the Fujimori extradition request.  The press 
release also criticized Fujimori's recent attempt to renew 
his Peruvian national identy card (DNI), while at the same 
time claiming he was exempt from extradition as a Japanese 
citizen.  End Note.) 
 
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Comment: 
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7.  (C) Ciurlizza's comments jibe with what we have heard 
from sources at the Japanese Embassy about the disorganized 
state of the Fujimori extradition case.  That said, there is 
ample reason to believe, based on what the Ambassador has 
heard from senior Japanese sources, that even a well-prepared 
extradition request would not prosper with Tokyo.  Most 
political commentators foresee the election of a significant 
pro-Fujimori bloc in next year's Congressional contest, which 
could further complicate efforts to extradite the 
ex-President.  End Comment. 
STRUBLE