Imprisoned Peru ex-president Fujimori taken to hospital

Former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori, serving a 25-year prison term for corruption and crimes against humanity, was transferred to a hospital after experiencing high blood pressure and pain in his tongue.

The 77-year-old has been in and out of the hospital in recent months for a series of health problems.

Fujimori had "high blood pressure and severe pain in his tongue, so the prison doctor recommended that he be transferred to the hospital," prison service chief Julio Magan said.

He has previously had gastric problems, cataract surgery and five operations for a cancerous growth on his tongue.

The hospitalization came 12 days after his daughter Keiko narrowly lost Peru's presidential election to center-right candidate Pedro Pablo Kuczynski.

Fujimori, who was president from 1990 to 2000, was first jailed in 2007 and convicted in 2009 for his role in killings by a death squad targeting supposed members of the Shining Path guerrilla group in the 1990s.

He has also been convicted of embezzlement and bribery.

Fujimori's children have asked President Ollanta Humala to grant him a reprieve on health grounds. 

But the president rejected the request in 2013, saying medical reports indicated Fujimori's condition was not sufficiently serious.

Source: AFP