Lawfare In Perú: Trial Of Rupture
On March 4, José Pedro Castillo Terrones, Peru’s first Indigenous rural president, went before the Supreme Court in what he, his lawyers and supporters have called a “show trial” for the supposed crime of rebellion. Since being overthrown in a 2022 coup, Castillo has spent the past two years in Penal Barbadillo (a prison) in conditions described as torture. He is said to be under pre-trial detention, itself a violation of his human rights.
Shortly after Castillo gave an announcement that he would pursue closing Congress , a primary demand of the Peruvian masses for years, Congress swiftly moved to impeach him. In a chain of procedural missteps, Congress rammed through (illegally, as his lawyers argue) the impeachment of Castillo.