The Peruvian Justice rejected on Tuesday December 13 the request for the release of deposed President Pedro Castillo, who told the hearing that he would "
never
" give up and called on the security forces to "
lay down their arms
" in the face of the demonstrations .
growing which have killed 7 people since Sunday.
The Court “
declares unfounded the appeal brought by the defense
” of the dismissed president, arrested on December 7, indicated judge César San Martin while reading his decision during a televised hearing.
She believes in particular that the failure of Castillo's coup attempt does not excuse his crime, stressing that by wanting to "
establish an exceptional government, he wanted to alter the constitutional order
".
“I will never give up”
This decision opens the door to the extension of his detention.
The Supreme Court had ordered his detention on remand for seven days on December 7, the day of his arrest, a period which expires Wednesday at 1 p.m.
The prosecution is expected to request an extension in the coming hours.
During the hearing, the former president was combative, taking the opportunity to say: “
I will never give up and will not abandon this cause that brought me here.
I urge the armed forces and the national police to lay down their arms and stop killing this people who thirst for justice
”.
“
I am detained unjustly and arbitrarily, I am neither a thief, nor a rapist, nor a corrupt or a thug
”, he also defended himself.
Mediator worried
Demonstrations demanding the release of Pedro Castillo, the resignation of new president Dina Boluarte - ex-vice-president of Pedro Castillo and from the same radical left party as him - and the dissolution of Parliament, continued on Tuesday with many roads blocked in 13 of the 24 regions, according to the police.
“
Protests have intensified since December 7.
At first, it was a small mobilization (...) but in the following days, it became more important (...) and more violent
, "said the mediator of the Republic Eliana Revollar to AFP , noting that Tuesday “
confirmed this increase
”.
"
It's a very serious social convulsion, we fear that it will lead to an uprising because there are people who are calling for an insurrection, who are asking to take up arms
," she said.
She confirmed the death toll at 7, adding that more than 200 people had been injured.
Emergency state
President Boluarte called once again for "
calm and peace
", announcing that the authorities were going to "
evaluate
" in the evening the relevance of declaring a state of emergency throughout the territory.
Monday, the new government had declared a state of emergency for 60 days in seven provinces of the region of Abancay (South) and dismissed all the prefects appointed by the government of Pedro Castillo.
On Tuesday evening, after a crisis meeting, Defense Minister Alberto Otarola announced that a state of emergency had been declared in two other regions in the south, Arequipa (which includes the country's second city) and Ica.
A framework that allows the army to intervene at the same time as the police.
Demonstrations and scuffles
The southern part of the country, with the tourist region of Cuzco and the second largest city Arequipa, and the northern part are the areas most affected by the protests.
The train linking Cuzco and the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu, Peru's tourist gem, was suspended Tuesday and Wednesday due to the situation, the operator said.
Read alsoPeru: justice rejects the appeal of ex-president Castillo who remains in prison
"
We demand the dissolution of Congress and the immediate resignation of Mrs. Dina Boluarte
," Hugo Maquera, a local official who participated in blocking the Puno international bridge on the border with Bolivia, told AFP.
In Lima, like the last few days, scuffles took place in the evening between police and demonstrators near the Congress in the city center.
“
Always President
”
Under pressure, Dina Boluarte announced on Sunday evening that she wanted to advance the general elections from 2026 to 2024, without managing to ease tensions.
On December 7, Pedro Castillo, 53, ordered the dissolution of Parliament, which shortly after voted by a large majority for his dismissal for "
moral incapacity
".
Before his failed attempt to dissolve parliament, prosecutors had already accused the former Peruvian president of leading a "
criminal organization
".
He is under investigation for obstruction of justice, influence peddling, corruption as well as plagiarism.