The Peruvian justice system confirmed this Friday the preventive prison measure against former president Pedro Castillo (2021-2022) due to the risk of flight in the case of the failed self-coup of 2022. Supreme Judge Juan Carlos Checkley Soria declared the ex officio review of the measure to be unfounded, confirming the preventive prison for the crime of rebellion.
In his resolution, the magistrate mentioned that the risk of Castillo fleeing continues and that there are no new elements that justify ending the measure, initially imposed for 18 months and then extended for the same period. The former president will go to oral trial for the attempted coup on December 7, 2022, along with his former prime ministers Aníbal Torres and Betssy Chávez.
Both the Prosecutor's Office and the defense of the defendants presented arguments that will need to be analyzed in the oral trial stage. The ongoing process faces Castillo, Torres, Chávez, and others for the crime of rebellion and other charges to the detriment of the State.
The Prosecutor's Office, in presenting its accusation last January, requested a sentence of 34 years in prison for the former president for rebellion, abuse of authority, and disturbance of public order. Judge Checkley continues with the evidence control phase, evaluating the evidence and witnesses presented.
Once this phase is concluded, it is expected that a judgment order will be issued to formalize the start of the oral trial, which must be handled by the Special Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court due to the high office held by Castillo. The former president was ousted by Congress after his televised message on December 7, 2022, in which he announced his intention to close Congress and call for a constitutional assembly, which led to his dismissal for 'permanent moral incapacity.' Subsequently, he was detained and faces charges of rebellion and corruption.
