Ousted Peru leader Castillo calls his detention 'political revenge'

Former Peruvian president Pedro Castillo, who is being held for 18 months in pre-trial detention after attempting to dissolve Congress illegally, has said he was a victim of "political revenge" by his adversaries.

Castillo, speaking at a hearing to appeal the detention on Wednesday, said he had not committed the crimes of rebellion and conspiracy for which he is under investigation.

"This unjust pre-trial detention... has only served to polarise our country," an unshaven Castillo said to the appeals court in a video stream.

"This whole process is nothing more than political revenge."

The former president is being held in a small prison on a police base in a district east of the capital city Lima.

"I have never committed a crime of rebellion, I have not taken up arms, nor have I called anyone to take up arms," Castillo said.

"The one who rose up in arms to end the lives of more than 30 Peruvians is the current government, leaving more than 20 missing and more than 200 wounded."

Castillo, 53, was impeached and arrested on December 7 after he tried to dissolve Congress to rule by decree. 

Since coming to power in July 2021, he faced vehement political opposition on all fronts, and investigations started almost immediately into numerous graft claims.

READ MORE: Peru arrests generals amid investigation of ex-President Castillo

Deadly protests

Dina Boluarte, who served as vice president under Castillo, was sworn in as the new president the same day.

Castillo's ouster and detention sparked a wave of protests by his supporters and those unhappy with the new government throughout the country, which according to government data have left at least 22 dead.

Boluarte's government announced a state of emergency nearly two weeks ago, granting security forces special powers and limiting freedoms such as the right to assembly.

Human rights groups have accused authorities of using firearms on protesters and dropping smoke bombs from helicopters.

The army says protesters have used weapons and homemade explosives.

A Reuters news agency investigation found several cases of people who were shot dead in the residential streets of Ayacucho after the military moved into the region to regain control.

The judge presiding over the hearing said the court will now discuss Castillo's appeal.

Castillo claimed he was being held incommunicado and asked the judge to grant him access to a telephone to contact his wife and two children, who were granted asylum in Mexico. 

According to Peru's rights ombudsman, whose representatives visited Castillo in prison last week with a team from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the former president was in good health and being held in legal conditions.

Castillo was arrested hours after his impeachment as he was making for the Mexican embassy to request asylum.

READ MORE: Peru court orders 18-month detention for ousted president Castillo