FILE PHOTO: Guatemalan former President (2012-2015), Otto Perez Molina, leaves the court after listening to his sentence during a hearing in Guatemala City, on 7 December 2022. (Photo by Johan ORDONEZ / AFP)
Former Guatemalan president Otto Perez has been released from prison on parole after serving eight years behind bars and paying bail on two corruption convictions, a lawyer said Thursday.
"Having satisfied the two financial bonds and alternative measures, he was released yesterday (Wednesday night)," Cesar Calderon, a lawyer who worked on both cases, told AFP.
The 73-year-old former army general resigned from the Guatemalan presidency on 3 September 2015, amid massive demonstrations against corruption in his government. He was jailed the same day.
The first conviction, in 2022, saw Perez sentenced to 16 years for leading a massive customs fraud scheme while in office.
The former leader secured release after paying a $1.2 million bail in the case, by guaranteeing two real estate properties belonging to his family, his lawyer said.
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In the second case, he was sentenced this past September to eight years for his role in a bribe-taking scheme. He had paid about $40,000 in fines.
In both cases, judges had granted Perez pathways to secure conditional release from prison.
Under the conditions of his parole, he is prohibited from leaving the country.
