Appeal hearing for Peru's jailed Fujimori set for Saturday

An appeal hearing for Peru's jailed opposition leader Keiko Fujimori against her 36-month sentence has been set for Saturday, judicial authorities announced Wednesday. Fujimori was jailed on October 31 pending the outcome of a multimillion-dollar corruption probe that has rocked Peruvian politics. Prosecutors have accused a total of 11 people linked to Fujimori's Popular Force party of running "a criminal organization" in order to raise illicit funding for her 2011 presidential campaign. Seven of those, including Fujimori, are in pre-trial detention. "We will be looking for justice to prevail," Fujimori's lawyer Giuliana Loza in a tweet. Judicial authorities announced the appeal for Saturday in a message on Twitter. The court will also hear the appeal of her former campaign chief Jaime Yoshiyama, who is currently in Miami recovering from an operation. A lower court has accused him of "evading justice" and has ordered his arrest. Fujimori wrote on Twitter that after 43 days in jail, "I have just received the news that my family and I have been waiting for all this time: this Saturday 15th is the appeal hearing." In another message, she called on the court to revoke her sentence, saying it was the result of "a process full of excesses and abuses" by her opponents. "I maintain the hope that the superior instances, with greater objectivity and experience of judicial power, can correct so many irregularities that no one should suffer in a state of law," she wrote. The eldest daughter of disgraced ex-president Alberto Fujimori, 43-year-old Keiko is accused of accepting $1.2 million in illicit party funding from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht for her 2011 presidential campaign. Peru is one of the Latin American countries worst affected by the multi-million dollar, region-wide Odebrecht corruption scandal. The Brazilian company has admitted paying at least $29 million in bribes to Peruvian officials since 2004. Peruvians vented their disgust at their politicians on Sunday, with a referendum approving a ban on consecutive re-election to Congress, ensuring that lawmakers will be out of a job when their mandate ends in mid-2021.