Verdict due for Peru's authoritarian antihero
Frank Bajak, AP – Sat Mar 28 -
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090328/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/peru_fujimori_trial;_ylt=AnJ_DgaXfAPGMNnFwl6Xj6VvaA8F LIMA, Peru – The man who energetically led Peru back from the brink of economic collapse and crushed a fanatical Maoist insurgency during his 1990s presidency is now a much diminished figure. The once-leonine Alberto Fujimori shuffles wearily in and out of a courtroom, awaiting what most Peruvians believe will be his conviction on murder and kidnapping charges.
After hearing from 80 witnesses and 20 outside experts in his 15-month trial, a three-judge panel is nearing a verdict in the case, an example of strengthening judicial authority in a region where democratic rule has a precarious tradition.
The 70-year-old former strongman remains remarkably popular, but Fujimori is also ailing, visibly downtrodden and discredited. Two-thirds of Peruvians polled recently approve of his rule, but 71 percent also think he'll be found guilty.
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