Peru’s Supreme Court postpones decision on Fujimori release

LIMA, Peru – Peru’s Supreme Court on Friday, August 9, postponed a decision on whether to free opposition leader Keiko Fujimori from pre-trial detention in a corruption case linked to Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht.

Fujimori, the daughter of disgraced and jailed former president Alberto Fujimori, was herself incarcerated on October 31 last year when she was ordered to be held in pre-trial detention for up to 3 years.

She is accused of accepting $1.2 million in illicit party funding from Odebrecht for her 2011 presidential campaign. (READ: Peru court orders Fujimori detention in graft probe)

The court was due to make a decision on her possible release on Friday but said its 5 magistrates could not come to an agreement.

“There has been no resolution,” said the court’s president Hugo Principe in a session that lasted less than 5 minutes.

He said the court would continue to discuss Fujimori’s case.

In order to settle the case, the court’s permanent chamber must appoint a 6th judge but it may take up to four months to reach an agreement, a judicial source told Agence France-Presse.

Keiko, 44, was not in court but followed the brief proceedings by conference call from the Chorrillos women’s prison in southern Lima.

Prosecutors have accused a total of 11 people linked to Fujimori’s Popular Force party of running a criminal organization to raise funding for her 2011 campaign.

Odebrecht has admitted paying at least $29 million in bribes to Peruvian officials since 2004.

Three former presidents are being investigated over Odebrecht while a 4th, Alan Garcia, committed suicide in April after police arrived at his house to arrest him for money laundering. – Rappler.com