How to Bring a Dictator to Justice:
The Successful Extradition of Alberto Fujimori

featuring

with comments by

and

moderated by

Thursday, June 18, 2009

12:00–2:00 p.m.
(Lunch served 12:00–12:15 p.m.)

RSVP (acceptances only) with name and affiliation by Tuesday, June 16

by email to fellowsrsvp@ned.org.

The recent conviction and sentencing of former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori have been widely applauded as a remarkable achievement in transitional justice. Thorough, transparent, and impartial, this historic trial marks the first instance of a national court bringing an elected head of state to justice. Much of the success of the trial proceedings relied on groundwork and actions initiated by the Ad Hoc Solicitor’s Office, established in 2000 by the Peruvian government to build criminal cases against Fujimori and his associates. In his role as Ad Hoc Solicitor, Mr. Antonio Maldonado capitalized on Fujimori’s ill-considered decision to travel to Chile in 2005 and led efforts to marshal evidence and extradite the former president. Critical to the success of the extradition was the use of the precedent-setting “autor mediato” (indirect-author) theory, a legal instrument which held Fujimori criminally liable for human rights violations committed by his network. In his presentation, Mr. Maldonado will explain the extradition process and examine the significance of this paradigmatic example of international cooperation in the pursuit of justice. His presentation will be followed by comments by Dr. Cynthia McClintock and Dr. Jo-Marie Burt and will be moderated by Dr. Diego Abente Brun.

Mr. Antonio Maldonado is an independent human rights lawyer with extensive experience in cases of anticorruption, human rights violations, international humanitarian law, and international criminal law. Most recently, he was an International Legal Officer with the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG). From 2004 to 2006, he successfully represented the Peruvian government as the Anti-corruption Ad Hoc Solicitor in criminal cases against Peru’s former president, Alberto Fujimori, and the former head of Peru’s National Intelligence Service, Vladimiro Montesinos, who are believed to be responsible for a number of criminal activities, including human rights abuses, bribery, and other transgressions. Mr. Maldonado has also served as a consultant and advisor to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United States Agency for International Development, the United Nations Mission for the Verification of Human Rights in Guatemala, and the International Human Rights Law Group, among others. During his fellowship, Mr. Maldonado is tracing the incidence of political and economic corruption over the last three decades in Peru, with a focus on the methods and strategies used to bring Alberto Fujimori and other corrupt officials to justice. Cynthia McClintock is professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University and director of GWU’s Latin American and Hemispheric Studies Program. Jo-Marie Burt teaches politics at George Mason University and was recently an accredited international observer to the Fujimori trial for the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA).

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