Peru's jailed ex-president Toledo seeks humanitarian pardon

Former Peruvian president Alejandro Toledo, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence on corruption charges, asked the Peruvian government on Monday for a humanitarian pardon because of his health, his lawyer told AFP.

Toledo, 81, said in a written statement to the government that his health had seriously worsened in prison. He said doctors had warned him that he could have a heart attack or stroke at any time.

His lawyer, Carlos Torres, told AFP that the request for release was formally submitted Monday at the place where Toledo is being held in Lima. Torres said Toledo was not doing well and that the pardon request was urgent.

Toledo was Peru's president from 2001 to 2006. The request was submitted two weeks before Keiko Fujimori, daughter of former Peruvian leader Alberto Fujimori, takes office. Toledo was one of Fujimori's main political opponents.

Toledo was sentenced in 2024 for accepting multi-million-dollar bribes from Brazilian construction company Odebrecht in exchange for large public works contracts. He received another sentence a year later for money laundering linked to the same corruption scandal.