Former Peruvian president loses appeal, remains in prison

Lima Aug 5 (IANS) A national appeals court in Peru denied the appeal of former President Ollanta Humala and his wife Nadine Heredia and the couple will continue their preventive prison for 18 months.

In a 57-page decision magistrates said on Friday that the appeal for the charges of aggravated money laundering was groundless Xinhua news agency reported.

Peru s prosecutor-general said that evidence showed Humala and Heredia received bribes from entities in Brazil and Venezuela to finance Humala s 2006 and 2011 presidential campaigns.

In 2006 Humala was the candidate for the Union for Peru (UPP) where he finished first in the first round but lost in the runoff.

In 2011 Humala won the top job with the Peru Nationalist Party (PNP).

Humala is being detained at a special facility in the district of Ate-Vitarte to the east of Lima while Heredia is jailed at the Santa Monica Women s Prison in the capital s district of Chorrillos.

--IANS
pgh/