Former Peru President Pedro Castillo gets 11.5 years in prison
A court in Peru has sentenced former President Pedro Castillo to 11 years, five months, and 15 days in prison for attempting to dissolve Congress.
The decision on Thursday came nearly three years after Castillo sought to disband the legislature on December 7, 2022, as he faced a third set of impeachment hearings, News.Az reports citing Al Jazeera.
The first two attempts to impeach Castillo had been unsuccessful. But after he appeared on television to impose a state of emergency and suspend the legislature for eroding the rule of law, Congress swiftly voted for his removal. He was arrested the same day.
Castillo, a former teacher and union leader, was charged with rebellion and conspiracy against the state for his alleged power grab, which some have described as a “self-coup”.
A left-leaning, socially conservative politician from Peru’s rural north, Castillo had faced up to 34 years in prison at his sentencing.
Prosecutors in the case argued that Castillo aimed to undermine Peru’s Constitution with his actions. But at trial last week, Castillo denied the charges against him. Addressing his televised 2022 speech, he said he merely read out “a document without consequence”.
Castillo is part of a series of presidents in recent decades to face investigations and criminal charges in Peru. The country has had eight presidents within the last 10 years alone.
After his surprise victory in the 2021 presidential election, Castillo, now 56, was dubbed the country’s first “president of the poor“, given his working-class roots in the northern city of Puna. He had never previously held elected office.
His brief tenure, which lasted only around 16 months, was defined by frequent shake-ups among his top ministers and clashes with the opposition-led Congress.
Castillo’s arrest in 2022 sparked pushback from Indigenous residents and his rural base, members of which blocked roads, particularly in Peru’s south.
The unrest fuelled widespread, years-long protests across the country. His successor, former Vice President Dina Boluarte, oversaw a brutal crackdown of those demonstrations that left at least 50 people dead.
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