Ex-Peruvian president again seeks release on bail

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo is again asking a U.S. judge to release him on bail while he fights extradition to his native country on corruption charges.

A public defender is expected to argue Thursday that Toledo should be released on bail because of “inhumane” conditions at Santa Rita Jail, where he is being kept in solitary confinement.

Magistrate Judge Thomas S. Hixson in San Francisco previously denied bail for Toledo after prosecutors argued he was a flight risk.

They noted that officials found a suitcase with $40,000 in cash during his arrest. U.S. marshals detained Toledo at his Northern California home on July 16 on an extradition request.

The ex-president is accused in Peru of taking $20 million in bribes from a construction company.