Peru’s exiled President Castillo challenges detention | WGN Radio 720

LIMA, Peru (AP) – Exiled Peruvian President Pedro Castillo told Peruvians on Tuesday he had been “unjustly and arbitrarily detained” for his “efforts and struggles” since being detained last week. Thank you to his supporters.

Castillo spoke at the hearing to determine whether he would remain imprisoned for three years while authorities filed a mutiny case against him. Castillo was detained Wednesday after being ousted by lawmakers when he called for the dissolution of parliament ahead of an impeachment vote.

“I will never give up or abandon this cause that brought me here,” Castillo said. Then, in apparent reference to the violent protests his dismissal sparked, he urged the national police and military to “throw down their weapons and stop killing these justice-hungry people.” .

The judge cut him off, telling Castillo to limit his remarks to legal arguments. He said he would make a decision on Castillo’s detention later Tuesday.

Protests have been particularly violent outside the Peruvian capital Lima. Peru’s ombudsman’s office said on Monday that seven people had died since the demonstrations began on Wednesday, including five on Monday. All seven occurred in Castillo, a rural impoverished community, a political novice with roots in the impoverished Andean mountain peasants, and a former schoolteacher, Castillo’s stronghold.

Lawyer Ronaldo Atensio, speaking on behalf of Castillo’s legal team, argued that Castillo neither procured weapons nor organized people who could overthrow the existing government. He was also confirmed by the Mexican ambassador. As stated, Castillo said he did not risk fleeing and had never sought asylum in Mexico.

Dina Boruarte, 60, was swiftly sworn in as Castillo’s vice-presidential candidate on Wednesday after Congress dismissed him for “persistent moral incompetence”. was.

On Monday, she partially agreed with protesters’ demands, announcing in a nationally televised address that she would send a proposal to parliament to move up the elections to April 2024. the year of her predecessor’s tenure.