The Permanent Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court declared the appeal of Pedro Castillo, who was vacated as president, against the order of 18 months of preventive detention against him. With this, Castillo will continue to be held in the Barbadillo prison while the prosecutor’s office investigates him for the alleged crimes of rebellion, conspiracy and others, for the coup that he carried out on December 7.
The room, presided over by the supreme judge Cesar San Martinpointed out that the pretrial detention issued by the supreme preparatory investigation judge Juan Carlos Checkley “is adequate, suitable and strictly proportional.”
In addition, it dismissed Castillo’s argument about an alleged violation of the due legal procedure of the pre-trial and the right to defense before Congress.
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For the room, “an accelerated process of defense of the constitutional order” was justified in Parliament, given the evidence of the fact and the danger of flight. The latter was evidenced when Castillo sought refuge in the Mexican Embassy in Lima and obtain asylum.
Meanwhile, he confirmed that there is a danger of hindering justice because Castillo announced the reorganization of the justice system and illegally ordered the arrest of the National Prosecutor, Patricia Benavides.
In the opinion of criminal lawyer Carlos Caro, “this is an expected decision to the extent that two weeks ago the same room had confirmed the preliminary detention for seven days against Castillo.”
Case of Anibal Torres
The court also ordered an 18-month ban on leaving the country against the former prime minister. Hannibal Torresinvestigated for being the alleged co-author of the crime of rebellion.
Although the measure is less restrictive than the preventive detention requested by the prosecution, it is superior to the appearance-only with restrictions imposed by Judge Checkley.
According to the Public Ministry, Torres, in his capacity as adviser to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, was a key player in the coup led by Castillo.
Although the prosecution reported that Torres used medical reports from 2017 to avoid preventive detention, the court noted that the documents refer to chronic diseases and constant or long-term treatment, and that the former prime minister is 79 years old.
The court considered that Torres’ ability to move is subject to an adequate regime of medical control and his health in general, which would be affected in clandestine conditions.
questioned defender
The lawyer Wilfredo Robles, who assumed the defense of Pedro Castillo in the appeal hearing, acknowledged yesterday that he was imprisoned for terrorism between 1992 and 2004, as revealed by “Peru 21”.
Robles added that he was acquitted in two instances after serving more than a decade in prison.