Protesters clash with police over Fujimori pardon

Lima: Police officers clashed with protesters in Lima, Peru on Monday (December 25), a day after Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski pardoned former authoritarian leader Alberto Fujimori.

Kuczynski, a former Wall Street banker who vowed as a candidate not to pardon Fujimori, based his decision on a medical review that found Fujimori suffered from "a progressive, degenerative and incurable disease," according to a statement from the president's office.

Fujimori was taken to the hospital from prison by ambulance to treat a drop in blood pressure and abnormal heart beat on Saturday.

Fujimori's foes denounced the pardon as part of a crude political deal. The pardon prompted protests Sunday night after the announcement and again on Monday.

Many in Peru saw the pardon as part of a quid pro quo. Three days earlier, Fujimori's loyalists - led by his lawmaker son Kenji - unexpectedly saved Kuczynski from a vote in Congress that nearly removed him from office.