They are thousands in the street to demand his release, but the deposed Peruvian president Pedro Castillo was kept, Thursday, December 15, in pre-trial detention for eighteen months by the Supreme Court of Peru. The ex-president of the radical left has been imprisoned since his dismissal on December 7, after his failed attempt to dissolve Parliament, which his opponents described as a failed coup.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office, recalling that Mr. Castillo had tried to take refuge in the Mexican Embassy after his dismissal, demanded that he be kept in detention until June 2024, citing a “risk of leakage”. Prosecuted for “rebellion” and “conspiracy”the ex-president faces ten years in prison, according to prosecutor Alcides Diaz.
“We felt it coming (…) We did not go to the hearing, because we refuse to take part in this charade”denounced Mr. Castillo’s lawyer, Ronald Atencio, announcing that he was going to appeal.
Two new deaths Thursday during demonstrations of support
In the streets, the mobilization of supporters of Pedro Castillo does not weaken despite the state of emergency declared Wednesday for thirty days throughout Peru. This measure allows the army to participate in law enforcement operations.
At least ten people were killed during these demonstrations, including two on Thursday during a clash at Ayacucho airport (south of the country), according to the Defender of the People office, a public entity responsible for ensuring respect for human rights. in Peru, which also counted 340 injured. The police said that almost half of these injuries came from its ranks. “We demand that the armed forces immediately stop the use of firearms and tear gas canisters launched by helicopter”the Office of the People’s Advocate said in a statement.
The most virulent demonstrations took place in the south of the country, where five airports remain closed (Andahuaylas, Arequipa, Puno, Cuzco and Ayacucho). More than a hundred roads are blocked by protesters across the country, and the train to the famous site of Machu Picchu has stopped running, preventing tourists from accessing it.
Daily rallies since Mr Castillo’s impeachment by deputies have been held near parliament in Lima. Many police and members of the armed forces were visible Thursday evening in the center of the capital.
“We need an energetic, authoritarian response” in the face of violence, Defense Minister Alberto Otarola had launched, stressing that the state of emergency included “suspension of freedom of movement and assembly” with “possibility of curfew”.
“There is no justice”
In front of the police barracks where Mr. Castillo is detained, in Até (east of Lima), many of his supporters camp and demand his release. His niece, Vilma Vasquez, 42, denounced to the press the absence of ” justice “. “From the first day he took office and even more during the campaign, we were already terrorists. The day President Castillo took office, they wouldn’t let him rule, we were thieves, we were corrupt. There is no justice”did she say.
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Opponents of Camp Castillo say some of its support comes from Movadef, the political wing of Shining Path, the Maoist guerrillas that claimed thousands of lives in Peru in the 1980s and 1990s. “terrorists”.
The power is trying to enforce order by force but also to appease discontent by acceding to some of the demands of the demonstrators. The new president Dina Boluarte, former vice-president of Mr. Castillo who came to power after the dismissal of the latter, has announced that she wants to bring the electoral calendar forward again. “until December 2023”.
Mme Boluarte, who crystallizes part of the discontent in his person, had already pledged on Sunday to bring them forward from 2026 to April 2024, without stopping the protests. She herself is affected by the measure: her mandate theoretically runs until 2026, Mr. Castillo having been elected in 2021 for five years.