At the Fujimtori Trial: Montesinos and Fujimori meet again--June 30, 2008

Alberto Fujimori and Vladimiro Montesinos, two legendary partners in state-sponsored crime, finally reunite after an eight year lapse. The audience was anxious for this long-awaited encounter. It was unknown what Vladimiro would reveal, if he spoke at all. Since he is currently being prosecuted in separate judicial proceedings that have not concluded he is afforded the right to remain silent in order to avoid self-incrimination. Vladimiro, a lawyer himself, was well aware of this right but chose to proceed. It was at this point that the drama, or what appeared to be a scene from a nightly telenovela, began.

Throughout the Public Prosecutor’s interrogation, Vladimiro remained overwhelmingly arrogant. His dramatic presentation appeared to complicate and in some cases compromise the role of the prosecutor. In general, Vladimiro’s irrelevant responses could be characterized as overly competent legal determinations or sarcastic and disrespectful. In other occasions he claimed that national security could not be compromised and thus revealing the de-classified information was unwarranted. To reinforce the decision to uphold security interests he consistently referenced legal operations within the United States.

The Public Prosecutor’s non-authoritarian interrogation style was not successful in taking the reigns of the court room or in controlling the witness. Rather, the court room remained almost memorized by Vladimiro’s audacity and outbursts. The novella-like drama that took place did not necessarily liberate Fujimori or assist him. However, no blame was directed towards this old friend who would likely reciprocate silence about mutually incriminatory secrets. The friendly, non-verbal exchanges between the former governmental officials confirmed for many the suspicion that these two individuals remained associates.

As the interrogation began with excitement—it ended with relative disappointment. Before the Barrios Altos and Cantuta massacres were mentioned, Vladimiro abruptly announced that he had concluded for the day. He refused to answer any further line of questioning by invoking his right to remain silent. The court room was briefly startled by this communication but some type of dramatization or surprise was expected by many in attendance. The tribunal judges communicated their disappointment with the witness’ swift decision to end the interrogation but this was the extent of the court's capabilities. The relative importance of Vladimiro’s questionable testimony will most certainly not be known for some time but it left the Peruvian public with much to ponder.

Vladimiro Montesinos Takes the Witness Stand in Fujimori Trial

Yesterday, Vladimiro Montesinos, Alberto Fujimori's intelligence chief and right-hand man, took the witness stand in the trial of the former Peruvian dictator. It was the first time that Fujimori and Montesinos had seen each other since they both fled the country--Montesinos to Venezuela, Fujimori to Japan--in the midst of a massive corruption scandal sparked by Montesinos's videotaped payoffs to opposition party leaders.

Due to his close governing relationship with Fujimori (the two were once known as the "siamese twins") and recent critical statements he made against his former boss, Montesinos's appearance in front of the court was one of the most anticipated of the trial. In his testimony, however, Montesinos--who was alternately described as "loquacious and risible"--attempted to exculpate Fujimori by asserting that he had "no responsibility" for the crimes involved in the case.

You can click here to read the Washington Post's piece on Montesinos's testimony.

Michelle Doherty, a colleague from DJPC and a co-facilitator for the delegation, was present in the courtroom as an international observer. Her firsthand report is forthcoming!