Peru's jailed ex-President Fujumori released from hospital

Jan. 5 (UPI) -- Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori was resting at home for the first time Friday since he was pardoned and released from prison on health grounds.

Fujimori, 79, left a hospital in Lima on Thursday night to return to his home in a suburb of the capital. He had been in the hospital for nearly two weeks.

President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski pardoned Fujimori on Christmas Day, prompting protesters to fill the streets and chant "traitor" and "the pardon has got to go."

Fujimori, who was Peru's leader from 1990 to 2000, was serving a 25-year prison sentence for human rights abuses.

Fujimori's term began in 2007 with a six-year sentence for bribery and abuse of power. Two years into that sentence, Fujimori was given another 25 years for human rights abuses that included authorizing death squad killings.

Kuczynski said the reason for clemency was because Fujimori has low blood pressure and an irregular heartbeat. A statement by Kuczynski said he is "convinced that those of us who consider ourselves democrats cannot allow Alberto Fujimori to die in prison."

The former president's son, Congressman Kenji Fujimori, tweeted a photo with his father and accompanied him home from the hospital. There, Fujimori reunited with his four children.