A Peruvian court has sentenced former President Martin Vizcarra to 14 years in prison for his involvement in a corruption scandal when he was the governor of the southern region of Moquegua.

In its decision on Wednesday, the court also penalised Vizcarra with a nine-year ban from running for office, as well as a fine.

He is expected to begin serving his prison sentence immediately. But Vizcarra indicated he plans to appeal the verdict against him.

“This is not justice, it is revenge,” Vizcarra wrote on social media in response to the verdict. “But they will not break me.”

He had been found guilty of accepting bribes worth more than $600,000 in exchange for awarding contracts for large-scale projects in Moquegua.

Vizcarra, currently a leader in the Peru First party, led Moquegua from 2011 to 2014 before going on to serve as president from 2018 to 2020.

He joins three other Peruvian ex-presidents who are currently serving prison sentences, a trend that experts say underscores endemic instability and corruption in the country’s political system. Other former leaders are facing ongoing criminal charges.

Peru has had six presidents since 2018. Some have been forced from office through impeachment, while others have stepped down due to corruption scandals.

Vizcarra himself came to the presidency after his predecessor, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, faced impeachment proceedings.

Kuczynski ultimately resigned in 2018, as scrutiny mounted over whether he tried to buy congressional votes to avoid impeachment. He also faced criticism for his participation in the bribery scandals involving the Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht.

Vizcarra’s term lasted less than three years. He too faced impeachment over “moral incapacity”, and he was ultimately deposed by the opposition in 2020 over corruption allegations.

The former president has strongly denied any wrongdoing, insisting that his impeachment and prosecution were politically motivated. His older brother, Mario Vizcarra, is a likely contender in the 2026 presidential election, with Martin serving as a close adviser to the Peru First party.

“They have sentenced me for facing the mafioso pact,” Vizcarra said in a social media post on Wednesday.

He added that his brother will “continue the fight” and that voters will have their turn to weigh in at the ballot box next year.

“They’ve removed me from office. They’ve barred me from holding public office. They’ve expelled me from my party. And now they’re throwing me in jail,” Vizcarra wrote. “Are they so afraid of Vizcarra?”