Peru’s Supreme Court has ruled on Monday in favor of the country’s president, Pedro Castillo, to be investigated by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, rejecting an appeal filed by the president’s defense to be excluded from the investigations of the Puente Tarata case.
Thus, after the Supreme Court’s decision, the Peruvian Public Prosecutor’s Office will continue with its investigation of Castillo for allegedly committing crimes such as criminal organization, influence peddling and aggravated collusion, as local radio station RPP recalls.
Castillo’s defense presented its allegations arguing that the president could not be tried because he has immunity as head of state. The head of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, Patricia Benavides, filed a constitutional complaint against the president before the Congress of the Republic for his alleged involvement in a corruption case.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, Castillo would be the head of a criminal organization active in the Ministry of Transport and Communications in complicity with the former minister of this portfolio Juan Silva, as well as with officials of Provías Nacional and Provías Descentralizado, of the Presidential Office and of businessmen and third parties, to favor the consortium Puente Tarata III and other companies in public bidding processes.
After this accusation, Castillo affirmed that he is suffering a political persecution, at the same time that he has denounced a «new modality of coup d’état». «We have a political Prosecutor’s Office in Peru, which far from judging the real criminals, today is doing it with the Government that has been legitimately elected by the people», said the President.
