Living in Peru : your everyday companion

(LIP-ir) -- The retired Chilean judge, Juan Salvador Guzmán Tapia, stated Chile would look "very bad" in the international community if the justices handling Alberto Fujimori's case reject Peru's request to extradite the former president.

According to Peru's La Republica newspaper, Juan Guzmán Tapia, who became famous internationally for being the first judge to prosecute former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet on human rights charges, stated that presently Chile's image is in the hands of the Justices which are to rule on Fujimori's extradition.

"From a political standpoint, (Chile) will obviously look bad if it rules against (the extradition), very different from what Ricardo Lagos thinks. It will mean that the institutions don't work or that the people that are in those types of positions do not have the ability to do justice. In that aspect, Chile would look really bad internationally," said Chile's former judge.

On the other hand, Guzmán Tapia stated that he trusted that Chile's Supreme Court would rule in favor of the extradition. In addition, Guzmán Tapia said that it was in Chile's best interest to extradite Fujimori and maintain a good relationship with Peru.

Last week, Alberto Fujimori's case was suspended by the president of the five-justice panel, Justice Alberto Chaigneau, because of medical reasons. Chile's Supreme Court resumed on Monday August 10 and has announced that a ruling will be made by next week.

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