Detained for eight days for his self-coup attempt, the former Peruvian president Pedro Castillo will therefore remain in preventive prison for a maximum of 18 months or until the opening of his trial for alleged rebellion and conspiracy.
A year and a half really seems like a long time for preventive prison, but it is a peculiarity of Peruvian law. Justice here is very slow, often corrupt, and the idea of these 18 months of preventive detention is to prevent people accused of corruption or serious offenses from fleeing abroad or taking advantage of a formal defect. to escape justice, explains our regional correspondent, Eric Samson.
To take just one example, the former presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori was given the same sentence in a recent corruption trial.
►Also read: Political crisis in Peru: state of emergency declared throughout the territory
Currently detained in the premises of the Special Operations Directorate of the Police, in the district of Ate in the east of the Peruvian capital, Pedro Castillo will therefore remain behind bars for a maximum of a year and a half until the start of his trial. The judge considered that there were serious and well-founded elements to think that he intended to perpetrate a coup, to dissolve the Congress, to intervene the Justice and to disturb the public peace. According to the prosecution, Pedro Castillo could be sentenced to a minimum of ten years in prison.
Anibal Torres under house arrest
His former prime minister Anibal Torres, who is now his lawyer, is accused as a co-author of the attempted coup. He was placed under house arrest with the obligation to appear regularly before the authorities and a ban on contacting the other defendants.
According to the judge, Anibal Torres is less likely to flee than former president Castillo whose lawyers have appealed. This decision in any case should not calm the supporters of Castillo who continue to demonstrate throughout the country.
Demonstrations across the country
Yesterday, Thursday, the first day of the state of emergency, demonstrations took place all over the country. The toll is nine dead in one day. A curfew has been declared in 15 provinces. The demonstrators, who proclaimed their support for Pedro Castillo, were between 2000 and 3000 in Lima, in the capital where our correspondent was, Juliette Chaignon.
The security system has been reinforced: hundreds of police officers, armored vehicles and soldiers, firearms slung over their shoulders. An incomprehensible device for the demonstrators. “ The army is out, we just saw a small tank, said a protester. The national police came out. All that’s missing is the armed forces! We come from ourselves, we are not terrorists. »
These demonstrators have been demanding the same thing for a week: “ Freedom for Pedro Castillo, dissolution of Congress and a new Constitution “. He must be freed because they have no evidence against him. What rumors. »
►Also listen: Peru: “The demonstrations express a generalized fed up”
In the street, everyone says they are ready to demonstrate as long as necessary. Thursday, several groups made the trip from the interior of the country. As this former member of a self-defence group from central Peru says: We came with a goal. Until it is filled, we will stay here. »
Congress has begun debates to advance the elections to December 2023 or April 2024.