Pedro Castillo wants out of prison.
The deposed Peruvian president, imprisoned since December 7 for "rebellion" and "conspiracy", asked Wednesday during a judicial hearing on appeal for his release, denying having committed crimes during his attempted "coup d'etat".
“I ask that the hatred cease and ask for my freedom as it is my just right.
I have never committed a crime of rebellion,” Pedro Castillo, 53, said during a virtual hearing in a Supreme Court court.
His defense is asking for the revocation of the 18-month pre-trial detention that the former president is serving in a prison located in a police barracks in Lima.
General elections brought forward to April 2024
The Mediator of the French Republic, who visited the former head of state in detention, announced last Thursday that the latter was detained under legal conditions and that he did not suffer from "physical complications".
Radical left president elected in 2021, Pedro Castillo was arrested after having tried on December 7 to dissolve Parliament and announced that he wanted to govern by decrees, an action described as a "coup d'etat" by Parliament.
A teacher of rural origin, he governed for less than a year and a half, a period marked by a deep political crisis.
Violent protests shook the country after his dismissal and then his arrest.
In an attempt to ease the crisis, Parliament approved an advancement of the general election from 2026 to April 2024.
World
Peru: President refuses to resign, 200 tourists evacuated from Machu Picchu
World
Peru: Seven dead in clashes between soldiers and demonstrators in the south of the country
World
Peru
Crisis
Jail