Aug. 8, 2002

LIMA, Peru - Peru's attorney general has asked Congress for permission to press charges against former President Alberto Fujimori  for allegedly overseeing the phone-tapping of his political foes, officials said Thursday.

Attorney General Nelly Calderon on Wednesday requested that Congress lift Fujimori's constitutional immunity so prosecutors can file charges of criminal intent and privacy violation against the exiled leader and four former Cabinet ministers, her office said.

Fujimori fled to Japan, his parents' native country, in November 2000 during a mounting corruption scandal involving his former intelligence chief and top adviser Vladimiro Montesinos.

Congress must authorize criminal charges against former presidents and high-ranking officials. The legislature will create a committee to investigate the accusations against Fujimori and recommend whether or not to approve the charges.

In a statement released Thursday, Calderon's office said the former president helped direct a phone-tapping ring run by Montesinos to spy on opposition politicians and journalists during the ex-president's 10-year rule.

Prosecutors have already filed corresponding charges against Montesinos.

Japan granted Fujimori citizenship shortly after his arrival, shielding him from extradition to face trial for crimes committed in other countries.

Fujimori faces charges of abandonment of office, embezzlement and homicide for allegedly sanctioning a paramilitary death squad.

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