Former Peru president says won't flee Chile

SANTIAGO, Chile, May 19 (Reuters) Disgraced former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori met with family and lawyers today, a day after being granted bail despite concerns that he remains a flight risk.

Fujimori insisted he would not try to flee Chile after a ruling by the nation's top court granted him 3,000 dollars bail while he fights Peru's bid to have him extradited for trial on human rights and corruption charges.

Fujimori had been in low-security confinement in Chile for six months after living in exile in Japan for five years.

Chilean police stood outside his rented house in an upscale Santiago neighborhood on Friday to ensure the safety of the former Peruvian head of state, who rested inside, surrounded by a wall and electrified fence.

Local and foreign media thronged outside but the house, with a view of the Andes mountain range, was quiet and only Fujimori's daughter and lawyer were seen coming and going.

''He is allowed to move around in Chile but he cannot leave Chile,'' Gabriel Zaliasnik, one of his defense attorneys, said outside the residence.

Fujimori, 67, was released onThursday, six months after he was arrested on request from Peru. Fujimori, who is of Japanese descent, had fled Peru for Japan to avoid prosecution after his 1990-2000 government collapsed following a huge corruption scandal.

''It's hard for me to get used to all this space ... That (fleeing) is totally ruled out,'' Fujimori told local media.

Chilean government spokesman Ricardo Lagos Weber also said there was no indication he might bolt.

The Peruvian government and human rights groups, however, say Fujimori is a flight risk and should not have been released.

''Fujimori has already avoided justice in the past by fleeing to other countries,'' Jose Miguel Vivanco, director for the Americas division of human rights group Human Rights Watch, said today.

Fujimori had dinner on Thursday with his daughter Sachi Marcela at the two-story house that will be his home until extradition proceedings against him are complete. Fujimori also was to be joined by another daughter, Keiko Fujimori, today.

Fujimori is accused of stealing million in state cash and using excessive anti-terrorism measures to crush Peru's Shining Path movement. He denies any wrongdoing and says he is the victim of political persecution.

Upon his arrival last year, Fujimori said he had chosen Chile because its courts are seen as the most impartial in the region.

''What is the point of flight if he came to Chile voluntarily to demonstrate his innocence from here?'' Zaliasnik said. ''He does not trust the Peruvian justice system.'' Peru has asked Chile to take measures to ensure Fujimori does not attempt to flee the country.

The extradition case against Fujimori is expected to take at least another month, the presiding judge said.

Reuters SK GC0211