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LIMA, Aug. 31-- Former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo requested assurance of a fair trial if he is extradited to Peru, his lawyer Heriberto Benitez said on Saturday. The former president is not scared of going back to Peru but demands impartial justice be assured, Benitez said. The Peruvian government requested Toledo's extradition one year ago, accusing him of influence peddling and money laundering. Toledo, who ruled Peru from 2001 to 2006, was arrested on July 16 at his home in the U.S. state of California and is now jailed in the United States. The charges claim that Toledo took 20 million U.S. dollars in bribes from Odebrecht, a Brazilian construction company, in exchange for a government contract to build the Interoceanic Highway linking Peru and Brazil. Toledo's lawyer has said the former president is not a fugitive from Peruvian justice, given that Toledo moved to the United States in 2017 before an arrest warrant or travel ban against him was issued. Toledo's extradition process is at the preliminary stage. Earlier this week, U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Hixson set a hearing for Sept. 12 to decide whether to release the former president on bail, as Toledo fights his extradition. | 
