Peru’s ousted president Pedro Castillo made his first appearance in court on Thursday since being removed from office, arrested and charged with “rebellion” for attempting to shut down the Andean nation’s congress.
Castillo, the leftist onetime schoolteacher, was taciturn, and let his lawyers do most of the talking at the hearing to discuss his arrest after the dramatic developments of the previous day. One of them, Anibal Torres, served as his prime minister until late November. His other lawyer, Víctor Pérez, said Castillo’s speech on Wednesday announcing the shutdown of congress “did not constitute the crime of rebellion”.
When the presiding judge gave Castillo the floor at the end of the hearing, he was uncharacteristically quiet. “That is all,” he said, exhibiting the same wan expression and wearing the blue jacket that he was photographed in on Wednesday when first detained.