Peru's Fujimori denies he plans to seek asylum

SANTIAGO, May 3 (Reuters) Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, detained in Chile for the past 18 months, denied that he planned to seek political asylum at the Japanese Embassy in Santiago to avoid extradition to Lima.

Rumours that the 68-year-old might seek asylum circulated in recent weeks, fueled in part by his decision to move from a house in the Chilean capital to an apartment closer to the embassy.

But speaking to Reuters yesterday night, Fujimori, accused by Peru of embezzling 15 million dollar and of using excessive anti-terrorism measures during his 1990-2000 rule, said the rumors were unwarranted.

''They are totally unfounded. They don't make any sense,'' said Fujimori, who fled Peru for Japan in 2000 to avoid prosecution when his second term in office collapsed in a huge corruption scandal. In November 2005, he flew to Chile apparently to resurrect his political career in Peru and was detained on an international arrest warrant.

''That would be like thinking I had crossed the entire Pacific Ocean to get to Chile simply to say that I was going to return to Japan,'' he said. ''It's not logical, and I'm always driven by logic.'' Peru wants to try Fujimori on human rights charges, including allegations of two massacres to crush the Shining Path Maoist rebels. In those incidents, 25 people were killed by death squads allegedly linked to Fujimori's government.

The former president, who is of Japanese descent, denies the charges.

Since his arrest in 2005, Fujimori has kept a relatively low profile in Santiago while his extradition case has moved through the Chilean courts. Under the terms of his detention, he is not allowed to leave Chile, but his day-to-day movements are not restricted.

''They say that today I was close to the (Japanese) embassy, but I wasn't,'' said Fujimori, who spoke to Reuters in his car after emerging from a shopping mall in Santiago. ''I was doing my shopping in the supermarket.'' Peru says it is confident its extradition request will be granted, while Fujimori says he is convinced it will not.

The Chilean public prosecutor in the case is due to make a non-binding recommendation to the judge, Orlando Alvarez, this month. Alvarez will then issue a verdict, which will be open to appeal.

''I am waiting in total calm, and with a clean conscience having acted correctly during my tenure,'' Fujimori said.

Reuters SZ GC1057