Peruvian Congress formally accuses Fujimori

LIMA, Peru (CNN) -- Peru's Congress unanimously approved a "constitutional accusation" against former President Alberto Fujimori Monday night on charges of homicide and forced disappearances.

A congressional investigative committee accused Fujimori of being the co-author of crimes against humanity for the killings of 25 people in two army death-squad operations in the early 90s.

The accusation cited testimony from former intelligence agents and a former military chief, all of whom related Fujimori's knowledge and approval of the paramilitary death-squad operations.

The accusation also cited a law signed by Fujimori in which congratulations and promotions where granted to the members of death squads. In addition, an amnesty law forgave any crimes committed by those squad members.

The congressional committee said massacres were part of a strategy applied by Fujimori to fight terrorism.

The committee also accused him based on the principle of chain of command or chain of office, meaning that, as president and chief of the armed forces, Fujimori was responsible and had to have known of misdeeds.

Congresswoman Marta Chavez, one of Fujimori's remaining allies in Congress, said Monday most of the evidence were second-hand accounts. She said the former president has answered the accusations through his own website, calling the charges "political persecution."

The vote -- which came after four hours of debate -- clears the way for the attorney general's office to proceed with criminal charges within five days. Charges could eventually lead to an international arrest warrant for Fujimori, which could open the way for possible extradition of the former president from Japan.

Fujimori left for Japan in November after a corruption scandal involving his former security chief, Vladimiro Montesinos, who is now in jail. He tried to resign the presidency by sending a note from Japan, but Congress did not accept it, and instead declared him morally unfit to govern.

Because Fujimori's parents are from Japan, he has been granted citizenship there. Japan does not extradite nationals and has no extradition treaty with Peru.

Legal experts in Peru hope the new, more serious charges might force Japan to extradite Fujimori.