MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

IACHR team meets with former Peruvian President

Castillo claimed he was being arbitrarily deprived of his rights

A team from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) Thursday paid a visit to former Peruvian President José Pedro Castillo Terrones, who is under arrest for trying to stage a coup d'état, which led to his impeachment and subsequent pre-trial detention.

A group of relatives of Castillo's met at a Lima hotel with the delegation later in the day.

Peru's Ombudsman's Office explained on Twitter that Thursday's mission was a part of the IACHR's technical inquiry to address the social and political crisis.

“We accompanied a technical team from the IACHR on a visit to the Barbadillo prison, where former president Pedro Castillo is being held. We met with the former president and his technical defense. We verified that the conditions of confinement are in accordance with the Penal Execution Code,” the Ombudsman's Office said on social media.

Castillo had requested Wednesday evening that he needed the IACHR delegation to visit him “urgently” at the facility where he has been housed for 18 months while awaiting trial for trying to dissolve Congress and rule by decree. He insisted on Twitter that he was being “arbitrarily deprived” of his rights.

“I express my concern about what has happened and request that such an important meeting between the IACHR commission and my legal defense be held urgently,” said Castillo through Twitter with help from his lawyer.

Meeting the IACHR group Thursday were Castillo's sister Gloria and his niece Vilma Vásquez.

The IACHR group was on the last day of its technical visit after stops in Cusco, Lima, and Ayacucho. The dignitaries also held meetings with authorities, social organizations, and leaders of indigenous peoples “to receive information about the protests and the context of the institutional crisis.”