The Peruvian Justice declares unfounded the request to end preventive detention presented by Betssy Chávez

The Supreme Court of Preparatory Investigation has declared unfounded the request to cease preventive detention presented by former Prime Minister Betssy Chávez, investigated for alleged crimes of rebellion and conspiracy in her alleged connection to former President Pedro Castillo’s attempt to dissolve Congress in December and establish an emergency government. The decision has been made by Judge Juan Carlos Checkley, who has evaluated Chávez’s request and has concluded that there are no new elements that could lead to variations in the imposed measure, according to the Andina agency. Along these lines, Checkley has added that the former president’s allegations regarding her state of health do not justify the cessation of preventive detention, and has stressed that it is up to the National Penitentiary Institute (INPE) to adopt the necessary measures to safeguard the health of the inmates. This resolution comes after a virtual hearing, held on December 28, in which the requirement to end preventive detention for the former president of the Council of Ministers for the failed coup d’état of December 7, 2022 was evaluated. Chavez has substantiated their demand in a recent modification of the Criminal Procedure Code that establishes the review of preventive detention mandates every six months to evaluate whether the measure should remain in force or not. The former prime minister was arrested in Tacna in June 2023, after the Peruvian Justice ordered her immediate capture after issuing a sentence of 18 months of preventive detention in April of that same year. This preventive detention measure corresponded, according to the Public Ministry, to the criminal process opened against Chávez and former ministers Willy Huerta and Roberto Sánchez as “co-authors” of the crimes of rebellion and conspiracy.