Former Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said Alejandro Toledo should not die in prison and backed Toledo's request for a presidential pardon, citing Toledo's health.
Kuczynski, who was himself placed under house arrest over the Odebrecht corruption case, said Toledo could go home to Camacho instead of remaining incarcerated. Speaking on RPP radio, he said he had granted a pardon measure to former President Alberto Fujimori, which brought him bad consequences, but that during his 2016 campaign he had already argued that someone with cancer should not spend so long in prison, calling it his own initiative.
Political ties between Kuczynski and Toledo
Kuczynski served as economy minister during Toledo's presidency, and the two maintained a political relationship dating to Kuczynski's time as leader of the now defunct Peruanos por el Kambio party.
Toledo has requested the presidential pardon citing depression and anxiety. The decision now rests with President Keiko Fujimori's government and the Presidential Pardons Commission, which operates under the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights.
Toledo's appeal to Fujimori
Last Sunday, Toledo sent a message to Fujimori asking her to speed up the processing of his pardon request. Speaking on the program Sin Rodeos, he said he was asking Fujimori, who had received a message from him when her father died, to please accelerate his request because he did not want to die in prison.
Toledo said he also suffers from cancer and serious heart problems in addition to anxiety and depression. He said that if his pardon request is approved, he will continue his medical treatment at the corresponding facility.
