Peru’s ex-President Fujimori freed after 16 years

— Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, who was serving a 25-year prison term for human rights abuses during his decade-long rule in the 1990s, was released from jail late on Wednesday despite criticism from an international human rights court.

Peru’s highest court on Tuesday ruled in favor of an appeal to restore a 2017 pardon for Fujimori, 85, on humanitarian grounds. The

Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) had earlier requested the move be blocked. Fujimori served around 16 years after being extradited from Chile in 2007.

The former president, whose doctors say has serious health issues, was filmed on Wednesday leaving the prison wearing a breathing tube and a mask. His children hugged him before he got into a car, which took him to the home of his eldest daughter and political heiress Keiko.

“Today we finally have our father home,” Keiko said through a megaphone at the door of her home, where her father is now expected to reside. “There is no hatred or resentment in my heart, but gratitude.”

As Fujimori left the prison, local TV footage showed a crowd of supporters cheering and pushing against his car as it tried to leave the prison’s premises on the outskirts of Lima.