Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez speaks to members of the press at the Supreme Court of Justice in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, on Monday. Hernandez returned to Honduras in July after receiving a pardon from U.S. President Donald Trump that overturned a 45-year U.S. sentence for drug trafficking . However, he faces domestic criminal charges in a case of alleged fraud and money laundering. Photo by Gustavo Amador/EPA
Aug. 4 (UPI) -- A Honduran court ruled that former President Juan Orlando Hernández will stand trial on money laundering and fraud charges while remaining free under court supervision, and that the case will proceed before a lower criminal court rather than the country's Supreme Court.
Although prosecutors initially sought pretrial detention, the Public Ministry did not oppose a defense request during Monday's initial hearing for Hernández to remain free while the case moves forward.
The latest legal proceedings come months after Hernández was unexpectedly released from a U.S. prison.
Hernández was extradited to the United States in April 2022 and was later sentenced by a federal court in New York to 45 years in prison on drug trafficking and weapons charges. President Donald Trump granted him a full presidential pardon on Dec. 1, vacating the sentence on the grounds that the original judicial process had lacked impartiality.
