The Justice of Peru denied this Tuesday (13) an appeal by former president of the country Pedro Castillo to overturn the seven-day preventive detention to which he is subject after attempting a coup d’état.
The leftist leader is accused of rebellion and conspiracy, and was preventively arrested last Thursday (8) to, according to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, prevent him from interfering in the investigation or trying to leave the country. At the hearing, Castillo and his lawyers argued that the accusations are unfounded.
The defense alleged that, for the two crimes with which the former president is accused, it would be necessary to act in a group, while Castillo, when arrested, was with few people. “I couldn’t get together with four friends and say I was going to break with the democratic order,” he said.
His lawyers have also said there is no danger of flight, arguing that when detained, Castillo did not make formal requests for asylum and that he would not have had the money to leave the country either, since he is a teacher.
Inspector Sylvia Sack Ramos, for her part, said that there was no irregularity in the preventive detention and that Castillo, as supreme head of the Armed Forces, had the intention of using them against the democratic order and was even considering changing names in command.
Ramos argued that Castillo violated at least two articles of the Peruvian Constitution — namely, Article 43, which provides for the democratic rule of law and the separation of powers, and Article 45, which states that rulers must exercise power with the limitations and responsibilities provided for in the Magna Carta.
She also stated that, when transmitting a message to the nation last Wednesday (7) talking about the dissolution of Congress, Castillo made it clear that the only power that would be in force from then on would be the Executive and that he did so for fear of corruption investigations. in which he is one of the protagonists.
Shortly after the defense and prosecution arguments, and hours before the announcement of the decision, Castillo again stated that he would not resign — even though he was removed from office by Congress shortly after failing in the coup attempt.
“I will never abandon the popular cause that brought me here”, stated the former president. “I also ask the Armed Forces and the police to put down their weapons and stop killing people who are thirsty for justice”, he continued, referring to the death of at least seven demonstrators so far.
As the hearing unfolded, Mexico’s president, fellow leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, again came to Castillo’s defense. AMLO, as he is known, said that the Peruvian should not have been removed from office, as this goes against the popular will that elected him in July 2021.
The North American country, by the way, is increasingly involved with the current political crisis in Peru. Castillo would have tried to flee to the North American country’s embassy shortly after being removed from office; he also made a formal request for asylum and spoke, already under arrest, with the Mexican ambassador in Lima.
At the same time, Mexico released, on Monday (13), a statement together with Argentina, Bolivia and Colombia, asking the Peruvian Justice to protect the human and legal rights of the leftist.
On the same day, Parliament passed a motion to overturn Castillo’s immunity, facilitating the opening of a criminal investigation against him. Hours later, Peru’s attorney general, Patrícia Benavides, filed a constitutional complaint against the former president for alleged rebellion, conspiracy and serious disturbance of public order.
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