Peru’s deposed president must be held for 18 months Ukraine reports nationwide missile attacks ++ new sanctions package against Russia

Amid increasingly violent protests in the streets of Peru, the Supreme Court has ordered an additional 18 months in prison for President Pedro Castillo, who was impeached by parliament. The court announced this via Twitter on Thursday (local time) after a hearing. According to this, law enforcement authorities want to investigate the charge of rebellion against Castillo, who faces more than four years in prison.

With the dissolution of the congress, the left-wing politician wanted to prevent a vote of no confidence in parliament last week. His cabinet and the opposition accused him of a coup – Castillo was removed from office, arrested and initially detained for seven days. The court rejected an appeal from his lawyers on Tuesday.

In southern and southeastern Peru, where Castillo has a particularly strong following in rural areas, as well as in the capital Lima, there have been violent protests against his resignation and clashes between demonstrators and police. The government of Castillo’s successor, Dina Boluarte, declared a 30-day state of emergency across the country on Wednesday. On Thursday (local time), the government declared a five-day curfew in 15 provinces.

The health authority of the Ayacucho region reported seven dead and 52 injured on Thursday after clashes at the airport of the city of the same name. Together with previous official information, this equates to at least 15 deaths and more than 70 injuries in various parts of the country.

Air and rail traffic has been shut down in parts of the Andes and hundreds of tourists have been stranded, according to Peruvian media reports. The police presence in Lima and other cities was stepped up. Thousands of demonstrators demanded the resignation of Castillo’s successor Boluarte, the dissolution of parliament, early new elections and the release of the imprisoned ex-president.

(yam/sda/dpa)