Peru's former President Pedro Castillo is among two of the South American nation's ex-leaders to be handed prison sentences in as many days. The left-wing leader was given 11 years in jail on Thursday for attempting to disband Peru's Congress and rule by decree in 2022. The gamble failed, and he was impeached and arrested.
He was found guilty of 'conspiracy to commit rebellion' by the Supreme Court, which handed down the sentence at the same time as convicting him.
Castillo's sentence comes just a day after another former Peruvian president, Martín Vizcarra, was handed 14 years' in prison for bribe-taking while serving as a regional governor.
The centrist politician, who had championed the fight against corruption during his term in office, was found guilty of taking bribes while governor of the Moquegua region between 2011 and 2014. Prosecutors said he received bribes worth more than $600,000 from construction companies seeking contracts for public works, a claim he has always denied.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court acquitted Castillo of two other charges. Dubbed Peru's first poor president, Castillo, a former trade unionist and teacher, won power in 2021 on a wave of frustration with conventional politics.
His arrest and impeachment sparked deadly protests in 2022 among his working-class rural base. The protests were brutally repressed by security forces, resulting in at least 50 deaths.
On Thursday, dozens of Castillo's supporters gathered outside the prison where he is being held, with some maintaining his innocence.
Vizcarra and Castillo are the latest in a series of former Peruvian presidents to face jail sentences for misconduct, following Ollanta Humala's 15-year sentence for money laundering earlier this year and Alejandro Toledo's 20-year sentence for bribery last year. The current political climate in Peru remains tumultuous, as protests and unrest continue to plague the country following controversies surrounding several leaders.
