The Peruvian Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed on Wednesday that it has arrested former Peruvian President Pedro Castillo in Lima for the alleged crime of rebellion after announcing that he was dissolving Congress, decreeing a government of exception and calling new legislative elections.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office has indicated that Castillo is accused of breaking the constitutional order according to article 346 of the Penal Code.
Thus, the Attorney General, Patricia Benavides Vargas –together with the Supreme Deputy Prosecutor, Marco Huamán Muñoz, of the Specialized Area on Illicit Enrichment and Constitutional Complaints; and the Senior Prosecutor Marita Barreto Rivera, belonging to the Special Team against Corruption of Power– has supervised the arrest of the former president.
Castillo has gone to the Prosecutor’s Office in Lima together with his family and former Prime Minister Anibal Torres.
The Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences will proceed to carry out a legal medical examination on Castillo’s current state of health, reads the letter from the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Hours before, the Peruvian Attorney General expressed her rejection to the violation of the constitutional order, announcing the adoption of legal actions.
«The worst danger we face today as a society is the ‘normalization of corruption’ (…) it is a danger because it undermines the very basis of social coexistence and constitutes a crime that affects human rights», she declared, as reported by the agency’s office.
OMBUDSMAN’S OFFICE ASKS THE PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE FOR CRIMINAL ACTIONS FOR «COUP D’ÉTAT».
The Ombudsman’s Office has asked the Peruvian Prosecutor’s Office to initiate the corresponding criminal actions against the former president for «attempted coup d’état». «He should be prosecuted in accordance with current regulations and with respect for due process,» the entity has indicated through its social networks.
In addition, the office has stated that it has confirmed that the procedures provided by law are being respected in the conditions of Castillo’s detention.
«We notice the clear intention of former president Pedro Castillo to go down the path of an unconstitutional closure of the Peruvian Congress, which is a coup d’état,» said the Ombudsman, Eliana Revollar, as reported by RPP radio station.
Revollar reiterated her commitment to dialogue and democratic order in the country. «We highlight the role of the Armed Forces in this context, for acting in accordance with the law, as well as the quick action of the Congress due to the presidential vacancy», she said.
«Unfortunately, the former president did not follow the constitutional standards. We have sent an official letter to the Attorney General so that Pedro Castillo responds for the breakdown of the democratic order in the country», added the Ombudsman, according to the aforementioned radio station.
