Jailed former president of Peru asks for pardon

Former Peru President Alberto Fujimori, in prison for corruption and human rights crimes, will ask for a pardon because of poor health due to oral cancer.

Fujimori, 74, is serving a 25-year sentence for crimes related to death-squad killings during his presidency in the 1990s, which was known for being riddled with corruption, reported the Associated Press. His daughter, Keiko Fujimori, made the announcement of his request Friday after visiting her father at a hospital. He had his fifth operation in August for a pre-cancerous lesion on his tongue and the wound has had difficulty healing.

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"The decision has been made that, during the next few days, a pardon request will be presented for humanitarian reasons," Keiko Fujimori told reporters Friday outside the hospital, said The Wall Street Journal.

A humanitarian pardon might be granted to Fujimori after a series of medical and judicial reviews, according to Reuters. If he allows the pardon, current President Ollanta Humala could gain support in Congress from Fujimori's right-wing party, solidifying a working majority for the ruling party, Gana Peru. The pardon could also anger left-wing Peruvians, who rallied to put him on trial and remember Humala as a young army officer who stood up to the former president and publicly demanded he resign.