[JURIST] Peru filed an appeal Thursday against a Chilean court ruling denying a Peruvian request for the extradition [JURIST reports] of former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori [personal website; JURIST news archive]. Peruvian prosecutor Carlos Briceno said he was disappointed with the Wednesday ruling, but remained optimistic that the Chilean high court would reverse. Judge Orlando Alvarez rejected the extradition request and ignored the recommendation of Chile's chief prosecutor [JURIST report], on the grounds that the Peruvian evidence was weak and that certain Peruvian charges had no legal equivalent in the Chilean justice system. The Chilean Supreme Court is expected take at least three months to issue a ruling.

Fujimori, who was president of Peru from 1990 until 2000, was arrested in Chile [JURIST report] in December 2005 after flying in to that country from Japan to campaign for the Peruvian presidency, despite having been officially banned from holding public office [JURIST report] until 2010. He remains under house arrest, and is currently running for a seat in the Japanese parliament [JURIST reports]. Xinhua has more.