, which had resulted in a 15-year prison sentence.

Humala left Barbadillo Prison in Lima’s Ate district on Friday at 7:39 p.m. (local time), accompanied by his lawyers Wilfredo Pedraza and Julio Espinoza.

Shortly after regaining his freedom, the former president said his wife, Nadine Heredia, his family, he himself, and the Nationalist Party had been victims of both political and judicial persecution.

Humala said he had been “kidnapped by the State” since April 15, 2025, a situation that—according to him—was later validated by “hitmen of the justice system.”

“We have never committed any crime. I have never received contributions from either Venezuela or Brazil. They (our opponents) needed to persecute us because of our administration and our political ideology. They forced my wife to seek asylum and my children to leave the country,” he expressed.

Outside Barbadillo Prison, Humala was welcomed by Nationalist Party supporters, with whom he was reunited after spending 15 months in detention.

Criminal proceedings annulled

The former president had been held at that jail since April 15, 2025, after the Third National Collegiate Criminal Court, by majority decision, sentenced him to 15 years in prison for the crime of money laundering.

The conviction was handed down in the case on alleged contributions to his presidential election campaigns.

His wife, Nadine Heredia, was also sentenced to 15 years in prison. However, she did not appear for the reading of the verdict.

The former first lady sought asylum at the Brazilian Embassy in Lima. After receiving safe-conduct, Heredia traveled to Brazil, where she currently remains.

Nadine Heredia’s situation

Upon arriving outside the prison, Humala’s lawyer, Julio Espinoza, said that the former first lady had welcomed the Constitutional Court’s ruling with great satisfaction.

He added that she could return to Peru in the coming days.

Espinoza indicated that the ruling annulling the criminal proceedings against Humala applies to all those implicated in the case, including Nadine Heredia, her brother Ilan Heredia, and other leaders of the Nationalist Party.

“It covers all those charged in connection with the election campaign. The Constitutional Court’s decision orders the complete dismissal of the case for everyone,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Pedraza indicated that, as in the Popular Force Party’s Cocktails Case, the effects of the ruling extend to all those standing trial as well.

“If there was no crime committed by the former president, then there is none for the other defendants either,” he noted.

The attorney also said this case should serve as a wake-up call for the justice system because “it cannot be that, in the face of situations that are manifestly atypical, a conviction is handed down and it takes so long to achieve justice.”

“A Constitutional Court ruling supported by five votes is reassuring. It provides a safeguard because judges and prosecutors cannot apply criminal law using broad criteria, but rather restrictive ones,” Pedraza stated, adding that he would recommend that his client seek compensation for the damage caused.