Peru's ousted president of the poor' gets 11-year sentence for rebellion

"Peru's supreme court on Thursday sentenced the former leftwing president Pedro Castillo to 11 years, five months and 15 days in prison for trying to disband Congress and rule by decree in December 2022. Labelled Peru's first poor president, the former rural schoolteacher, who had never held elected office before winning the presidency, was impeached by Congress and jailed on the same day after his attempted power grab."

"Castillo, 56, was also imprisoned at the facility pending his trial. Castillo, a former trade unionist who won power in 2021 on a promise to uplift Peru's poor, took the shock decision to dissolve Congress to try to avoid impeachment for alleged corruption. His stunt failed spectacularly, however, with members of his own government siding against him. He was arrested while on his way to the Mexican embassy with his family to seek asylum."

"Prosecutors had sought a 34-year prison sentence. His eight-month trial took a dramatic turn earlier this month when his former prime minister, Betssy Chavez, also put in the dock, was given asylum by the Mexican embassy. Peru broke off diplomatic ties with Mexico over what it called an unfriendly act and has not ruled out storming the Mexican embassy to arrest her."

Peru's supreme court sentenced former leftwing president Pedro Castillo to 11 years, five months and 15 days for trying to disband Congress and rule by decree in December 2022. Castillo, labelled Peru's first poor president and a former rural schoolteacher with no prior elected office, was impeached by Congress and jailed the same day. He repeatedly clashed with an opposition-dominated Congress during 16 months in power and was imprisoned pending trial at a special penitentiary for ex-leaders in Lima. Prosecutors sought 34 years, but Castillo was acquitted of abuse of power and disturbing public order while convicted of rebellion. His attempted dissolution of Congress led to his arrest en route to the Mexican embassy, sparked mass protests among his rural base, and contributed to at least 50 deaths. The case unfolded alongside other corruption convictions, including a 14-year sentence for Martin Vizcarra and the imprisonment of Ollanta Humala and Alejandro Toledo.

Read at www.theguardian.com