Body: The measure was applied to José Pérez, who is investigating Fujimori and Toledo; as well as Rafael Vela, coordinator of the team in charge of corruption cases of Brazilian companies, who will face a preliminary investigation for statements about the controversial prosecutor of the Nation, Patricia Benavides. Both made comments about the intervention of Benavides in the proceedings of the recent arrival of Toledo, extradited from the United States, and pointed out that the case is not in charge of her but of prosecutor Pérez, whose work has full autonomy.
Vela said that only prosecutor Pérez, the judge monitoring the investigations and the magistrates who will judge the former president for collecting a million-dollar bribe from the Odebrecht company in exchange for road works contracts have jurisdiction over the Toledo case.
“Here there is no intervention from the Nation’s prosecutor,” added Vela, according to the National Control Authority of the Public Ministry when notifying the measure.
Benavides then said that she had attended the arrival and the proceedings prior to Toledo’s imprisonment, in the exercise of his office and to inform him of his rights.
However, analysts and jurists critical of said official pointed out that the Nation’s prosecutors only intervene in cases of presidents who are covered by immunity, that is, five years after the end of their mandate, in the case of Toledo in 2006.
Pérez and Vela are also being investigated, according to the control authority, for “comments on processes that are in progress, which is why a preliminary investigation must be carried out to verify if the duties inherent to the position were affected.”
Pérez’s withdrawal from the Keiko Fujimori case, on the other hand, was repeatedly requested by the defense of the neoliberal leader, whose party, like related forces, supports prosecutor Benavides for her actions against corruption, according to what they say .
Pérez requested 20 years and 10 months in prison for Fujimori, for laundering assets with electoral funds received and not declared and for obstructing justice.
The same prosecutor investigated former neoliberal ruler Alan García Pérez (1985-90 and 2006-11), for whose arrest he obtained a court order, before which García committed suicide in April 2019.
ef/rgh/mrs
