Fujimori to be not released, Chilean officials says

A court on Monday postponed a decision to free former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori as he fights extradition to Peru on human rights and corruption charges. A three-member panel of the Santiago Court of Appeals said it would make its decision on Wednesday after reviewing a report by Supreme Court Justice Orlando Alvarez, who ordered Fujimori's arrest hours after his suprise arrival here from Japan eight days ago.

A private citizen, identified as Antonio Marin, requested Fujimori's release, arguing his arrest was illegal. He did not explain why he is seeking to help the former leader, the AP reports.

Peru asked Chile to hold Fujimori until a formal extradition request is filed. The ex-president faces dozens of charges ranging from corruption to allegedly authorizing a counterterrorism death squad during his 1990-2000 government. He is being held at an academy for corrections officers where he has been visited by two of his sons, Kenji and Hiro.

Kenji told the Santiago daily La Tercera that his father would wait until reaching Peru before starting to seek the presidency in that country's April, 2006, election.

Fujimori, 67, arrived here after five years of exile in Japan, the land of his parents. He fled Peru in 2000 as his government collapsed in a corruption scandal. A.M.