Lima, March 5 (IANS) Peru’s former President Pedro Castillo (2021-2022) went on trial, accused of attempting a coup d’etat by trying to dissolve Congress in December 2022.
The charges stem from a failed effort by Castillo to declare a state of emergency and dissolve Peru’s Congress as legislators prepared an impeachment vote against him in December 2022, Xinhua news agency reported.
Castillo failed to get the military’s support for his move, and was swiftly deposed by Congress and arrested after prosecutors accused him of trying to promote a coup. But the removal of Castillo, Peru’s first Indigenous President, sparked large protests in the south of the country, in which at least 49 people were killed in the weeks following the President’s ouster.
“The Judiciary is starting the trial hearing against former President #PedroCastillo and six others accused of #Rebellion and other crimes,” Peru’s Supreme Court of Justice announced on social media platform X on Tuesday.
The court’s Special Criminal Chamber is holding the hearings at the Barbadillo Penitentiary in the capital Lima, where Castillo, 55, is being held.
Other defendants in the case include Betssy Chavez and Anibal Torres, both former Presidents of the Council of Ministers.
The prosecution has also charged with “rebellion” the former Interior Minister, Willy Huerta, and three former officers of the National Police: Manuel Lozada, Justo Venero and Eder Infanzon.
State news agency Andina reported that the former President published a letter describing his status as “kidnapped” at Barbadillo and the judicial process against him as a “farce”.
Prosecutors are seeking a 34-year prison sentence for Castillo, as well as banning him from holding public office for a period of three years and six months. The other defendants face between 15 and 25 years in prison if convicted.
Earlier on Tuesday, a group of Castillo supporters gathered outside of the Barbadillo prison in a show of support for the former President.
Castillo was replaced by then-Vice President Dina Boluarte, who now leads a conservative government and has built alliances with legislators from the nation’s traditional parties. The former President’s trial is taking place in a police base, where he has been held since he made his unsuccessful attempt to dissolve Congress and call for new elections.
–IANS
int/khz
