One of the relatives of recently impeached former Peruvian President Pedro Castillo said after meeting with a human rights group on Thursday that he was in “delicate health” as he spent 18 months in preventive detention for trying to unlawfully dissolve Congress.
Vilma Vásquez, one of Castillo’s nephews, said she had informed representatives of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) “about the injustice being committed” against the 53-year-old former president.
Castillo, who has ruled the country for nearly 17 months, was overthrown and arrested on December 7 after announcing in a message to the nation that he would dissolve Congress and reorganize the judiciary with measures taken outside the constitutional order.
Castillo’s arrest triggered strong protests, mainly calling for early elections and killing at least 22 people in about two weeks, according to authorities.
The former president is being held in a prison inside a police base east of the city of Lima, where former president Alberto Fujimori is also serving a 25-year sentence for human rights abuses.
“His health is delicate, as far as I can see,” Vásquez told reporters after meeting with IACHR members at a hotel in the San Isidro residential area, along with other family members of the former president.
Vásquez said the former president’s family members were persecuted, but he did not determine who abused them. “We want justice to happen and everything to be very transparent.”
source: Noticias
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.