Judge Thomas S. Hixson, of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, will rule in the coming days on the extradition request against former President Alejandro Toledo (2001-2006) over the Odebrecht case.
The hearing —which was held Friday on the Zoom platform after an agreement between the prosecutors and the former president's defense— was virtually attended by U.S. Trial Attorney Rebecca Haciski, Alejandro Toledo, and his lawyer Graham Archer.
During the session, Haciski rejected the evidence presented by Toledo, stating that it was neither relevant nor admissible.
For his part, the judge specified that it was a hearing to determine probable cause, where the facts and classification of the crimes —for which Toledo is required to return to Peru to be tried— are assessed.
Similarly, probable cause evaluates the evidence that exists so far and that has been presented to the United States court, through the U.S. Department of Justice.
Peruvian State Attorney in the Lava Jato case, Silvana Carrion, is currently in the United States.
She clarified that the trial of the former president over the alleged bribes that he would have received from the Brazilian construction company for the Interoceanic Highway only corresponds to Peru's authorities.
Toledo was arrested on July 16, 2019, in the United States. During the first months of the extradition proceedings he was incarcerated at Santa Rita Jail and Maguire Correctional Facility, considering that there was a risk of flight.
However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, he was released on March 20, 2020, to serve house arrest and must wear an electronic shackle.
(END) RMCH/VVS/MVB