Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori was flying to his home country under police custody on Saturday, a day after the Chilean Supreme Court ordered his extradition on human rights and corruption charges.
A Peruvian police airplane carrying the 69-year-old former ruler departed just before 9:00 am (1830 IST) from Santiago bound for the Peruvian capital of Lima.
Earlier, a white and blue Chilean police helicopter flew Fujimori to the airport from the suburban residence where he was under house arrest for months while awaiting the ruling on his extradition.
Chilean police officers transferred Fujimori to their Peruvian counterparts inside a vehicle in the airport tarmac. Before boarding, he was examined by a Peruvian doctor, officials said.
Peru wants to try Fujimori on corruption and human rights charges, including sanctioning the death-squad killings of 2 people.
Fujimori, who calls the charges politically motivated, said on the eve of his departure that while his government made mistakes, his conscience is clear.
"This does not mean that I've been tried, much less convicted. ... I hope that in Peru there exists the due process to clarify the accusations against me," he told the Chilean newspaper El Mercurio.
{{/usCountry}}"This does not mean that I've been tried, much less convicted. ... I hope that in Peru there exists the due process to clarify the accusations against me," he told the Chilean newspaper El Mercurio.
{{/usCountry}}He noted hat while the Chilean Supreme Court authorised his extradition, it significantly reduced the charges for which he can be tried in Peru.