JAKARTA - Former Peru President Pedro Castillo, who was detained for 18 months, has been in pre-trial detention after trying to illegally dissolve Congress, saying he was a victim of "political revenge" by his opponents.
Speaking at the appeal hearing he filed against the detention, Castillo said he had committed no crime of the uprising and conspiracy being investigated.
"This unfair pre-trial detention... only serves to polarize our country," Castillo said.
"This whole process is nothing more than political revenge," he continued.
The former president was detained in a small prison at a police base in a district east of the capital Lima.
Elected in 2019, he was detained on December 7 after trying to shut down the legislature through a hijab to avoid impeachment trials. Voting continued, with Castillo impeached and then immediately arrested.
Dina Bouarte, who served as vice president under Castillo, was later sworn in as new president on the same day.
Castillo's dismissal and detention sparked a wave of protests by its supporters, as well as those unhappy with the new government across the country, which government data said had killed at least 22 people.
"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 person who took up arms to end the lives of more than 30 Peruvians is the current government, leaving more than 20 people missing and more than 200 injured."
The Boarte government declared a state of emergency nearly two weeks ago, granting special authority to security forces and limiting freedoms such as the right to gather.
Separately, human rights groups accused authorities of using firearms against protesters and dropping smoke bombs from helicopters. Meanwhile, the army said protesters had used homemade weapons and explosives.
A Reuters investigation found several cases of people being shot dead on residential roads of Ayacucho, after the military moved into the region to regain control.
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