Thousands call for Peru leader to step down over Fujimori pardon

Thousands of Peruvians took to the streets nationwide on Thursday to demand that President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski step down over his pardon to former strongman Alberto Fujimori - rallies that ended in clashes between demonstrators and police.

Police used tear gas against protesters in the capital Lima and in San Isidro, to the south.

In Lima, as night fell, protesters were still marching - police put turnout at 5,000, while local television estimated that 8,000 were in the streets.

The 79-year-old Fujimori, who was serving a 25-year sentence for human rights abuses committed during his time in office from 1990 to 2000, was pardoned last month.

The move came just days after his son Kenji and other Fujimorist lawmakers abstained from voting on Kuczynski's impeachment in what was seen by many as a backroom deal to save the president from corruption charges.

Kuczynski - who defeated Fujimori's daughter Keiko for the presidency in 2016 - said he had pardoned the ex-president for humanitarian reasons, reneging on an election pledge never to do so.

On Thursday, relatives of those killed under Fujimori's rule - all dressed in black - led the cortege for the rally in central Lima, under the watchful eye of police.

Rallies were also held in Arequipa, Cusco and other cities, local media said.

"Kucyzinski has to go, he has shamelessly lied to the people," said Veronika Mendoza, a former leftist candidate for president who took part in a march in Cusco.

Artist Carla Coronado, who was protesting in Lima, said of the pardon: "We are sure it was a political negotiation."

She added: "We are fed up with politics as usual and so much corruption in the country."

Victims' relatives are appealing the pardon to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which sits in Costa Rica and will hear their case on February 2.

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