Chile's Supreme Court said on Tuesday it had refused bail to former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori as Peru began to try to extradite him.

Fujimori, 67, was arrested on Monday after arriving in Santiago on a private flight from Japan. The former leader said he was on the way to launch a campaign for the Peruvian elections next April. He is being held in a school which belongs to Chile's prison authority.

The arrest was ordered by Chilean Supreme Court judge Orlando Alvarez upon the request of the Peruvian government.

Alvarez said it is not appropriate to release Fujimori on bail in 60 days during which the Chilean supreme court plans to examine Lima's extradition request.

The two countries have not reached an agreement on Fujimori's fate. Peru pressed for an extradition while the Chilean government considered certain legal procedures should be run, which would take about two months.

Peruvian prosecutors want to try Fujimori on 21 charges, including corruption, conspiracy, and kidnapping, torturing and murdering political opponents. If convicted, he could be jailed for up to 35 years.

Analysts in Chile say Fujimori was confident that the supreme court would not authorize his extradition.

Fujimori's lawyer Cesar Nakasaki arrived in Chile from Lima on Tuesday. The lawyer said he was sure that the Chilean judicial branch would be impartial.

Chilean courts would likely block Peru's extradition request, as they did before for former Argentine President Carlos Menem, said Nakasaki.

Several members of Chilean President Ricardo Lagos' Socialist party insisted, however, that Fujimori should be expelled from Chile. They expressed concerns the case could strain Chile's relations with Peru further when the two countries have disputes over maritime borders.

Fujimori had been in exile in Japan since fleeing Peru in 2000 after his 10-year presidency collapsed. Tokyo had been reluctant to hand him over to Peru, citing Fujimori's Japanese citizenship.

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso said Tuesday Japan wants to be informed of Fujimori's condition because "he has a Japanese nationality."

(Xinhua News Agency November 9, 2005)