2024-01-13 18:07:26
Pedro Castillo faces his first criminal accusation. The prosecution presented its request once morest the former president for his failed coup d’état on December 7, 2022 and requested the Judiciary (PJ) to sentence him to 34 years in prison.
For the Public Ministry, the former president must be found guilty of three crimes: rebellion (for which they ask for 25 years), abuse of authority (three years) and serious disturbance of public tranquility (six years). From there results the 34 years requested as a specific sentence.
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The former president is not the only one accused. In the same request, the prosecution requests 25 years in prison for three of its ministers at the time of the coup: Betssy Chávez (president of the Council of Ministers), Willy Huerta (Interior) and Roberto Sánchez (Foreign Trade and Tourism), who is also congressman for Democratic Change-Together for Peru.
AccusedPosition at the time of the blowCrimes accusedPenalty requestedDisqualification requested1. Pedro CastilloPresident of the Republic-Rebellion (25 years)
-Abuse of authority (3 years)
-Serious disturbance of public tranquility (6 years)34 years3 years and 6 months2. Betssy ChávezPresident of the Council of Ministers-Rebellion25 years2 years and 6 months3. Willy HuertaMinistry of the Interior-Rebellion25 years2 years and 6 months4. Roberto SánchezMinistry of Foreign Trade and Tourism-Rebellion25 years2 years and 6 months5. Manuel LozadaGeneral of the PNP-Rebelión25 years2 years and 6 months6. Jesús VeneroCommander PNP-Rebellion25 years2 years and 6 months7. Eder InfanzónLieutenant PNP-Rebellion25 years2 years and 6 months8. Aníbal TorresAdvisor to Betssy Chávez and former president of the Council of Ministers-Rebellion15 years2 years and 6 months
As for Aníbal Torres, advisor to Betssy Chávez and his predecessor as head of the Council of Ministers, 15 years are requested. Criminal lawyer Andy Carrión estimated that the difference in the sentence requested once morest this defendant is due to his age: 81 years.
“That is one of the elements when modulating the penalty to request. Being an older adult plays a determining role in this aspect,” he told El Comercio. Furthermore, he considered that the 25 years requested for Castillo for rebellion might have “absorbed” the penalties for the other crimes, instead of adding them. “The sorrows of the rest are well valued,” he said.
Eduardo Pachas, Castillo’s legal defender, declared to this newspaper that “the accused is a legal impossibility.” “My client is innocent,” said the lawyer.
Finally, 25 years are requested for three police officers who, according to the prosecution, followed the orders of the coup: Manuel Lozada, Jesús Venero and Eder Infanzón.
Robeto Sánchez, Betssy Sánchez and Willy Huerta, who were ministers at the time of the coup, are also accused.
Three crimes are attributed to the former president alone. The other seven are charged only with rebellion.
The accusation includes a request for Pedro Castillo to be disqualified for three years and six months: two years and six months for rebellion and one year for abuse of authority. For the other seven, disqualification for two years and six months is requested.
What’s coming
The investigation of Pedro Castillo began on December 7, with his arrest in flagrante delicto. Initially, it was conducted by the office of the then Attorney General, Patricia Benavides. Six days later, the investigation was formalized and assigned to the Second Transitory Supreme Prosecutor’s Office Specialized in Crimes Committed by Officials, led by prosecutor Uriel Terán.
Uriel Terán closed the investigation on December 14, 2023. During that stage, the fiscal thesis was that the defendants were part of the agreement to illegally dissolve Congress, intervene in the institutions of the justice system and govern by decree. All this calling for the support of the police and the Armed Forces, taking advantage of the fact that Pedro Castillo, as president, was the supreme head of both.
The progress of the case now depends on the office of Supreme Judge Juan Carlos Checkley
On December 16, Uriel Terán was dismissed and replaced by prosecutor Alcides Chinchay. This was part of the changes made by the current Attorney General, Juan Carlos Villena, following the fall of Patricia Benavides. However, as El Comercio reported in those days, Terán signed the accusation once morest Pedro Castillo before leaving his office.
Despite this, the accusation still had to be processed within the Public Ministry before being presented to the Judiciary. This process continued with Alcides Chinchay at the head of the office, until the request was presented to the Supreme Preparatory Investigation Court of the Supreme Court, headed by Judge Juan Carlos Checkley.
Judge Juan Carlos Checkley must notify the accusation to the defenses and the State Attorney General’s Office (PGE) and give them a period of time to present their observations. Within that period, the PGE may present its request for civil reparation, preliminarily estimated at more than S/ 67 million; while the defenses may send their resources so that the accusation is filed in this intermediate stage, without going to trial.
Then, the magistrate must convene prosecution control hearings to define whether the case goes to trial. There, the prosecution must support its accusation and all the observations and resources of the defenses will be evaluated. If the judge rejects the lawyers’ appeals, the judge will move on to analyze what evidence will be used in the trial. Everything will culminate with the issuance of the indictment, where the accusation is formally ordered to go to trial. Thus, the speed with which this accusation reaches a sentence will depend on the Judiciary.
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