By: BBC News Mundo
Thursday, May 16
Keiko Fujimori: why the prosecution in Peru asked that the presidential candidate return to preventive prison
The Peruvian prosecutor’s office requested this Thursday that Keiko Fujimori, candidate for the presidency of Peru for the third time, return to preventive detention.
This request from a prosecutor arrives in in the middle of the tight vote count of the second round of the presidential elections in Peru, in which Fujimori is behind the leftist Pedro Castillo.
At the same time, Fujimori faces a criminal charge and a request for 30 years in prison for money laundering and other crimes , for allegedly receiving illegal contributions from the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht for its presidential campaign of 1200 and contributions from Peruvian businessmen for their campaigns of 2011 Y 2016.
Fujimori, from the Fuerza Popular party, had already served two periods of preventive detention between 2018 Y 2020, but since May 2020 faced the process in a restricted appearance. The candidate denies the charges against her.
Now the prosecutor José Domingo Pérez wants to revoke the appearance because, as he argues, Fujimori breached one of the conditions of this regime when communicating with witnesses linked to the investigation .
The prosecution refers specifically to Miguel Torres, a member of Popular Force and witness of the case.
Torres accompanied Fujimori in a conference this Wednesday in which he announced that he had asked the Peruvian electoral authorities to annul 802 voting records – some 200, 10 votes – from the second round, for accusations of alleged “fraud”.
What does the defense of Fujimori say?
This Thursday, at a press conference, Fujimori described the prosecutor’s request as “absurd” and said it would not distract her “at all” from her efforts for the electoral authorities in Peru to review some 200. 000 votes.
Fujimori also said that prosecutor Pérez intends to “continue to be the protagonist of this electoral campaign.”
Fujimori’s lawyer, Giulliana Loza, said that the request was “unsustainable” and “disproportionate” and that “it lacks any legal and factual basis.”
Loza admitted that Torres “is a witness” in the investigation, but hopes that the judge in charge of the case “declares the petition inadmissible.”
How Is the electoral process going?
Until the afternoon of this Thursday, the National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE) of Peru was counting more than 99. 4% of the voting records of the second presidential round.
According to the results, Castillo, from Peru Libre, has a slight advantage over his rival, with the 50. 1% of the votes, while Fujimori t has the 49. 8% .
The request for annulment of 802 voting records that Fujimori presented this Wednesday could delay the count by about two weeks.
What are they accusing Fujimori of?
Jorge Barata, former representative of Odebrecht in Peru, testified in February 2019 that this The company had given $ 1.2 million to the Fujimori party for the presidential campaign of 2011.
Later, several Peruvian businessmen confessed to having given money for a total of at least $ 14 million dollars for the campaigns of 2011 Y 2016, as detailed by the investigation portal IDL-Reporteros.
Fujimori denies Odebrecht’s contributions , but it has accepted that Peruvian businessmen gave it resources that it did not declare to the corresponding organizations because, according to what it said, it was asked to keep them in reserve.
How is the trial against Fujimori going?
Last March, before of the first presidential round, the prosecutor Domingo Perez presented an accusation of more than 14. 000 folios and requested 30 years and 10 months in prison for Keiko Fujimori and others members of his party, for the alleged crimes of organized crime, money laundering, or obstruction of justice and false statement in administrative procedure.
In addition, the prosecution requested the dissolution of Fuerza Popular , Fujimori’s party.
Faced with the accusation in March, Fujimori told the prosecutor Pérez: “I will not accept that they want to silence me in full electoral process “and described his measures as” persecution. “
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As part of the investigation, Fujimori already served two periods of preventive detention, between October of 2011 and November 2018 and between January and May 2020, when he was released with a restricted subpoena after paying a bond a.
During his presidential campaign, Fujimori had to request special permits from the Judiciary to travel within Peru and an impediment to leaving the country was maintained, as part of the conditions of restricted appearance.
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