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- BBC News World
image source, Archyde.com
Castillo is being held for the alleged crime of “rebellion.”
The Mexican government reported that Pedro Castillo, the president of Peru who was ousted by Congress on Wednesday and is currently in detention, has formally requested political asylum.
The Mexican foreign minister, Marcelo Ebrard, pointed out that his country received a request for protection in the early hours of this Thursday, which was ratified by Castillo’s lawyer, Víctor Pérez Liendo.
“We have proceeded to initiate consultations with the Peruvian authorities”Ebrard said on Twitter, where he shared the asylum request letter in favor of Castillo.
The Mexican ambassador to Peru, Pablo Monroy, visited Castillo this Thursday followingnoon to meet with the former president. “He found him well physically and in the company of his lawyer”Ebrard said.
In the morning, the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, said that his government is willing to grant asylum to the former president.
image source, Presidency of Mexico
López Obrador and Castillo met in September
Castillo was dismissed by Congress following, still as president, he announced the dissolution of the legislature and the establishment of an emergency government.
The congressmen then approved a vacancy motion for “moral incapacity” of the president that removed him from office. Hours later he was arrested and taken before the authorities to face a charge of “rebellion.”
What does the asylum application say?
The document published by Ebrard, dated December 7, raises an asylum request for Castillo as a “protection of his life and integrity”.
“This is in the face of unfounded persecution by judicial bodies that have taken on a political character in their actions,” says lawyer Pérez Liendo.
“They intend to prosecute him for mere announcements of will or intention that do not constitute any criminal offense (at most preparatory acts), having these bodies created a climate of extreme defenselessness and purely political persecution of anyone who thinks differently from the oligarchic group that prevails over all the institutions of the country.
The lawyer assured that until then they had not allowed him access to his client, for which he considered that he was at “serious risk”. But Ambassador Monroy found him with him in the followingnoon, according to Ebrard.
At a press conference, the President of Mexico reported that received a call from Castillo on Wednesday in which he informed him that he would go to the Mexican embassy in Lima to request asylum.
“I looked for Marcelo Ebrard and informed him, and I told him to talk to the ambassador and to open the door of the embassy in accordance with our tradition of asylum. But shortly following they took over the embassy with police and also with citizens, they surrounded the embassy,” said López Obrador.
“He didn’t even think he might get out [hacia la embajada]They already arrested him immediately.”
The Peruvian government did not immediately rule on this request for asylum from the former president.
image source, Government of Peru
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