FILE PHOTO: Keiko Fujimori, daughter of former president Alberto Fujimori and leader of the opposition in Peru attends court as part of an investigation into money laundering, in Lima, Peru October 24, 2018. REUTERS/Mariana Bazo
LIMA (Reuters) – Peru’s Constitutional Tribunal on Monday ordered the release of opposition leader Keiko Fujimori, jailed last year for alleged money laundering and receiving illegal contributions from Brazilian construction company Odebrecht.
Fujimori, who denies the accusations, has been in prison since October last year pending trial over money laundering. She is the daughter of the country’s authoritarian ex-president Alberto Fujimori, who is also currently serving a 25-year sentence for human rights crimes and graft.
The decision comes as the country prepares to hold legislative elections on Jan. 26 after President Martín Vizcarra dissolved Congress amid a battle with lawmakers over his anti-graft campaign. Keiko Fujimori’s Popular Force party had held a majority in Congress before its dissolution.
Reporting by Marco Aquino; Writing by Adam Jourdan