The head of state had requested that the fiscal provision that ordered the expansion of the preliminary investigation against him for three alleged crimes be annulled.
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Pedro Castillo has five investigations in the Prosecutor's Office. (Photo: Presidency)
President Pedro Castillo will continue to be investigated by the Office of the the Nation for the alleged crimes of criminal organization, influence peddling and aggravated collusion. The Supreme Preparatory Investigation Court declared unfounded the protection of rights with which the president sought to annul the investigations.
Through his lawyer, President Castillo filed said appeal arguing an alleged violation of the constitutional principles of procedural legality and the principle of legal certainty. In this regard, Judge Juan Carlos Checkley considers that although the head of state can only be accused in the cases contemplated in article 117 of the Constitution, this does not annul the possibility of initiating a preliminary investigation as long as there are reasonable justifications.
The president's lawyer, Benji Espinoza, announced that they will appeal the decision as “incorrect.”< /p>
La resolución cuestionada lee la Constitución a partir de la ley procesal penal (debió ser al revés: leer el código procesal penal a partir de la Comstitución). Esta discusión jurídica recién empieza. En una 2da instancia la Sala Penal de Apelaciones conocerá el recurso.
— Benji Espinoza Ramos (@BenjiEspinozaR) June 23, 2022
The preliminary investigation had been approved by the National Prosecutor, Pablo Sánchez, who questioned Castillo Terrones on June 15 at the main headquarters of the Public Ministry.
On May 31, Castillo's defense filed an appeal for annulment before the Public Ministry requesting that the decision to investigate Castillo without suspension be annulled and that a new provision be issued, arguing that the “Magna Carta prohibits the persecution of the President of the Republic -in office- in cases not provided for in its article 117″.
A través de su abogado, el jefe de Estado había solicitado se anule la disposición fiscal que dispuso ampliar la investigación preliminar en su contra por los presuntos delitos de organización criminal, tráfico de influencias agravado y colusión agravada.
— Poder Judicial Perú (@Poder_Judicial_) June 23, 2022
He added that according to the Political Constitution only investigate a sitting president when any of the assumptions are met.
According to article 117 of the Constitution: the President of the Republic “can only be accused, during his term, of treason against the country; for preventing presidential, parliamentary, regional or municipal elections; for dissolving Congress, except in the cases provided for in article 134 of the Constitution, and for preventing its meeting or functioning, or those of the National Elections Board and other electoral system bodies.”.
< p itemprop="description" class="story-contents__font-paragraph">The National Prosecutor in charge, Pablo Sánchez, had decided to extend the investigation that had been initially suspended against Castillo Terrones and indicated that carry out the proceedings.
The measure was adopted after receiving information from the prosecutor's offices that are investigating alleged money laundering and that have collected testimonies that they involve the president, like the one provided by the businessman with preventive detention Zamir Villaverde.
