Court orders 18 months of preventive detention for Pedro Castillo, the former president of Peru
The Peruvian Ministry of State requested this Friday (12) 34 years in prison for former President Pedro Castillo.; He is accused of rebellion for his failed attempt to dissolve Congress and carry out a “coup d’etat” in December 2022.
According to the application submitted to the court, the former president is accused of committing the coup of December 7, 2022.
The document was handed over to the judge overseeing the case, Juan Carlos Checkley, who is expected to examine the basis of the accusation in the coming weeks.
Castillo, 54 years old, is serving a preventive sentence until December 2025.
On December 7, 2022, Castillo read a message to the country announcing the dissolution of Congress and the convening of a Constituent Assembly.
After his failed maneuver against the legislature, Castillo was released and sent on December 7 to Barbadillo Prison, a small presidential prison at the Police Special Operations Directorate headquarters east of Lima.
Castillo defended his innocence. “I never took up arms,” he said in hearings before judges, suggesting that his request to dissolve Congress was not implemented because his orders were not followed by the armed forces.
The former president (20212022) repeated his version that he was removed from office as part of an alleged political conspiracy between the rightwing Congress and the State Department, which was investigating him for alleged corruption.
The former Peruvian president, who was elected in 2021 and will rule until 2026, was sacked after 17 months in power.
Her vice president, Dina Boluarte, took office amid demonstrations demanding her resignation, the closure of Congress and the elections being brought forward to 2023.