Lima, Nov 22 (EFE).- Former Peruvian President Pedro Castillo stated this Friday that he has been subjected to a trial 'designed to destroy him' and reiterated his version of events that on December 7, 2022, he delivered a 'political speech' and did not attempt a coup d'état, as the Prosecutor's Office alleges. The Prosecutor's Office is seeking a 34-year prison sentence for him for the crime of rebellion. 'They accuse me of a coup simply for reading a piece of paper, but I have found the reality (of the process against him) that is indeed the product of a coup, reality is shouting it out loud,' said the former head of state (2021-2022) during the final arguments of the oral trial against him. Although before his presentation the judges asked him to refer only to 'the facts linked to the accusation,' Castillo said he is 'a president of the republic kidnapped by an unfair and designed process' to destroy him, and then spent more than 30 minutes recounting events and decisions from his government. In this sense, he maintained that the message he delivered in December 2022, when he announced the closure of Congress, the intervention in the Judiciary, and a government by decree, 'was a popular outcry through a political speech.' 'I was not the coup plotter, nor am I one now, I am not a terrorist, I am a teacher, I am a farmer,' he emphasized before saying that since winning the 2021 elections he has been a victim of 'defamations' and faced a 'war of hate, of fear.' Explaining the message In explaining his reasons for delivering his televised message, he assured he received information that Congress was going to remove him from office on the same December 7, when it had been scheduled to debate and vote on a motion presented against him. 'No one told me to do this or that,' he remarked to then state that he maintained his intention to go to Congress afterwards to defend himself in the political trial. Also denying that he had considered requesting asylum at the Mexican embassy, he stated that he was 'arrested while being president,' and then subjected to a 'express vacancy.' Castillo reiterated, in this sense, his rejection of the accusation that he committed the crime of rebellion and then addressed the magistrates to tell them that, from the beginning of the process, he realized that 'they already had a directive.' 'I am not here to ask for acquittal, to ask for mercy and sympathies, I am here to demand justice. You are judging a political man, a president of the republic, do the right thing,' he concluded. At the end of the arguments, the Special Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court, in charge of the case, announced that the next hearing will be held from 9.00 am (14.00 GMT) on November 27 'with the corresponding warnings.' The Public Ministry reiterated on November 6 its request that Castillo be sentenced to 34 years in prison for the crimes of rebellion, abuse of authority and serious disturbance of public peace. However, it also proposed to consider the alternative of imposing a 19-year and 30-day prison sentence for the crime of conspiracy.
