The preventive detention of former Peruvian president Pedro Castillo was extended, on Thursday (15), to 18 months. This comes amid protests stretching into a second week. At least 15 people died in the demonstrations, according to statements by authorities.
A judicial panel within the Supreme Court ordered an extended period of pre-trial detention for Castillo, while prosecutors continue an investigation into the criminal charges against him.
The decision did not touch on the merits of the charges faced by the former president, accused of rebellion and conspiracy, but a Supreme Court judge, who heads the panel, cited the risk of flight for the ousted president.
Castillo denies all allegations and has said he remains the country’s legitimate president.
Protesters gathered outside the prison where he is being held, holding signs criticizing new president Dina Boluarte and calling for the closure of Congress.
“We just want the voice of the people to be heard. The people are demanding that they bring back our president,” said protester Gloria Machuca.
The protests threaten logistics at the main copper mines and have led to the declaration of curfews in several areas of the Andean country.
Castillo, who was a teacher and the son of peasants, won a narrow electoral victory last year, running under the banner of the Marxist Free Peru party.
He was removed by an overwhelming vote of lawmakers who accused him of “permanent moral incompetence” just hours after he ordered the dissolution of Congress on Dec. 7.
Four nations led by left-wing presidents – Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia and Mexico – this week signed a joint note declaring Castillo a “victim of anti-democratic harassment”.
A bloc of left-wing countries gathered in Havana, including Cuba, Bolivia, Venezuela and Nicaragua, also supported Castillo, rejecting what they described as a “political structure created by right-wing forces”.
Foreign Minister Ana Cecilia Gervasi, new to the post after Boluarte replaced Castillo last week, responded Thursday morning by summoning Peru’s ambassadors to Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia and Mexico for consultation.
Gervasi wrote on Twitter that the queries “refer to interference in Peru’s internal affairs”.
Source: CNN Brasil
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