The U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention said Peru failed to uphold key due process guarantees, questioned the legality of Castillo’s arrest after his failed attempt to dissolve Congress on Dec. 7, 2022, and cited the lack of a judicial warrant and the failure to respect presidential immunity, News.Az reports, citing UPI.
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According to the group’s opinion, Peruvian authorities violated Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as Articles 3 and 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The report said Castillo’s arrest after his televised address announcing the dissolution of Congress, lacked a valid legal basis.
The experts argued there was no prior judicial warrant, and said the concept of being “caught in the act of committing a crime” did not exempt the state from respecting the immunity Castillo held as the sitting president.
The report also concluded that authorities improperly bypassed Peru’s constitutional impeachment procedure, which requires lifting a president’s immunity before an arrest can occur.
According to local media reports, the opinion triggered a political and legal debate over its potential implications for Peru’s institutions.
President José María Balcázar said Friday that the U.N. opinion could alter the legal and constitutional framework surrounding a possible pardon for Castillo.
“Pedro Castillo’s case will have to be analyzed in light of this new U.N. decision,” Balcázar said in an interview with Radio Nacional.
Balcázar previously expressed ideological sympathy for Castillo and even raised the possibility of granting him a pardon after he took office in February.
He later said the issue was “not on the agenda” because no formal request had been filed and legal requirements had not been met, though the U.N. opinion could change that assessment.
Former left-wing presidential candidate Roberto Sánchez called for Castillo’s immediate release in a post on X, writing that “the people’s freedom is breaking through.”
