Susana Higuchi, the woman who stood up against Fujimori from her own home

Susana Higuchi, the woman who stood up against Fujimori from her own home

Susana Higuchi, the woman who stood up against Fujimori from her own home

Alberto Fujimori's ex-wife surprised Peru in 1992 when, as first lady, she denounced her own husband's family for corruption. Since then... 08.12.2021, Sputnik World

2021-12-08T21:31+0000

2021-12-08T21:31+0000

2021-12-09T02:00+0000

latin america

policy

japan

cidh

alberto fujimori

Vladimiro Montesinos

torture

peru

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Although Susana Higuchi became known to Peruvians as the wife of former President Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000), the civil engineer and congresswoman who died in 2021 at the age of 71 earned a place in history as one of the voices more criticism against the irregularities committed by whoever her husband was until 1995. The first Fujimori government had Higuchi in the role of the first lady, a figure of protocol traditionally linked to charity events and who had reserved ownership of the Fundación Por los Niños del Perú, an entity that channeled donations managed by the Peruvian State to distribute among low-income children. Things began to change in March 1992, when the first lady surprised Peru by publicly denouncing the president's sister and other relatives for appropriate clothing that had been donated to the South American country by the Government of Japan. The accusation fell especially on Clorinda Ebisui, wife of the president's brother, Santiago Fujimori, and on Rosa Fujimori, also the president's sister and wife of the then Peruvian ambassador to Japan, Víctor Aritomi. During an interview on a radio program, Higuchi accused the entourage family member of her husband to divert donations to keep the best quality garments and resell the medium quality ones in bazaars. The donated clothing that did reach low-income children was the one in the worst condition, generally with tears. The public complaint strained her relationship with her husband to the maximum, who preferred to minimize the accusations against the rest of her family. From there, Higuchi lived an ordeal that would not stop until he managed to divorce the then president of Peru in 1995. In 2001, with Fujimori already out of power, Higuchi told prosecutor Luz Ibáñez Carranza that in 1992 he had to make the denunciation of the irregularities with the donations in a room of the Government Palace, without a lawyer and with her husband and several of the accused relatives watching her. To make matters worse, the woman said that there were two military personnel who "carried a submachine gun pointing in the declarant's direction," according to a fragment of the statement collected by the Wayka.pe journalistic portal. The harassment of Higuchi worsened when, for "security reasons", Fujimori moved with his family to the facilities of the National Intelligence Service (SIN) of the Army, just a few weeks after the complaint. There, as revealed in 2001, the then first lady was locked in a dungeon and forced to remain "in a fetal position" in a corner of the compound that the military called Pentagonito. The woman assured that she was tied up for two or three hours until they began torture with electroshock that caused burns and marks. On other occasions, she was beaten by several men until she lost consciousness. Another of the tortures narrated by Fujimori's ex-wife was the forcible injection of a substance that forced her to sleep for days on end. Alberto Fujimori denied that this happened when his own wife told him, assuring that it was surely a dream. By 1994, the disagreements between Fujimori and Higuchi were known throughout Peru, to the point that the woman had publicly announced her intention to be a candidate for the Presidency in 1995. During that period, she said that her husband kept her locked up in the Government Palace, since her husband had given express orders to the guards not to let her out. A law that prevented the candidacy of relatives served as an argument for that the Electoral Tribunal of the South American country prevented her from being a candidate for the Presidency or Congress. Higuchi took her case to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), which considered that the electoral power had indeed violated her rights. Higuchi won a seat in the legislature five years later and, from there, she was one of those responsible for disseminating the Vladivideos , a series of videos that revealed the corruption of the Government of Fujimori and the adviser Vladimiro Montesinos. That denunciation precipitated the fall of Fujimoriism and the president's flight to Japan.

https://mundo.sputniknews.com/20211203/former-peruvian-president-fujimori-will-not-be-prosecuted-for-forced-female-sterilizations-1118993158.html

https://mundo.sputniknews.com/20210830/vladimiro-montesinos-the-shadow-of-fujimori-who-now-sleeps-in-a-cement-bed-1115593488.html

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Alberto Fujimori's ex-wife surprised Peru in 1992 when, as first lady, she denounced her own husband's family for corruption. Since then, she has not stopped confronting Fujimori, whom she accused of having tortured her with electroshocks and beatings in the place where they lived.

managed by the Peruvian State to distribute among low-income children.

Things began to change in March 1992, when the first lady shocked Peru by publicly denouncing the president's sister and other relatives for appropriating clothing that had been donated to the South American country by the government from Japan. The accusation fell especially on Clorinda Ebisui, wife of the president's brother, Santiago Fujimori, and on Rosa Fujimori, also the president's sister and wife of the then Peruvian ambassador to Japan, Víctor Aritomi.

During an interview on a radio show, Higuchi accused her husband's family of diverting donations to keep the best quality garments and reselling the average quality ones in bazaars. The donated clothes that did reach low-income children were the ones in the worst condition, usually with tears.

The public complaint strained her relationship with her husband to the maximum, who preferred to minimize the accusations against the rest of his family. From there, Higuchi lived through an ordeal that she would not stop until she managed to divorce the then president of Peru in 1995.

In 2001, with Fujimori already out of power, Higuchi told the prosecutor Luz Ibáñez Carranza that in 1992 he had to denounce the irregularities with the donations in a hall of the Government Palace, without a lawyer and with her husband and several of the accused relatives watching her. To make matters worse, the woman herself recounted that there were two military personnel who "carried a submachine gun pointing in the direction of the witness," according to a fragment of the statement collected by the Wayka.pe journalistic portal.

The harassment of Higuchi worsened when, for "security reasons", Fujimori moved with his family to the facilities of the Army's National Intelligence Service (SIN), just a few weeks after the complaint. There, as she revealed in 2001, the then first lady was locked in a dungeon and forced to remain "in a fetal position" in a corner of the compound that the military called Pentagonito.

The woman assured that she was tied up for two or three hours until the torture began with electroshock that caused burns and marks. On other occasions, she was beaten by several men until she lost consciousness.

Another of the tortures narrated by Fujimori's ex-wife was the forcible injection of a substance that forced her to sleep for days on end. Alberto Fujimori denied that this happened when his own wife told him about it, assuring that it was surely a dream.

By 1994, the disagreements between Fujimori and Higuchi were known throughout Peru, to the point that the woman had publicly announced her intention to be a presidential candidate in 1995. During that period, she said that her husband supported her locked up in the Government Palace, since her husband had given express orders to the guards not to let her out.

A law that prevented the candidacy of family members served as an argument for the Electoral Tribunal of the South American country to prevent her from being a candidate for the Presidency or Congress. Higuchi took her case to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), which considered that the electoral power had indeed violated her rights.