The lawyer for former President Pedro Castillo (2021-2022), Walter Ayala, filed a habeas corpus petition seeking the immediate release of the former president, sentenced to 11 years in prison for the failed coup attempt in 2022. This action follows a ruling by a United Nations working group that concluded his detention was arbitrary and that he should be released, local media reported this Saturday.

[Peruvians Rally in Support of Pedro Castillo: Habeas Corpus Calls for Peruvian President Pedro Castillo Immediate Release](https://www.telesurenglish.net/habeas-corpus-calls-for-peruvian-president-pedro-castillo-immediate-release/)

The habeas corpus petition was filed by Ayala before the Second Constitutional Court of Lima, based on the conclusions of the report by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention of the United Nations Human Rights Council, which maintains that Castillo’s detention was “arbitrary” and lacked legal basis.

The former president’s lawyer also seeks the nullification of the judicial proceedings against Castillo, such as the preventive detention orders of 18 and 36 months issued before his sentence, as well as the first-instance conviction of December 4 last year, which has been appealed.

Al pueblo peruano y a los pueblos del mundo; a las organizaciones que defienden los derechos de las personas y de los pueblos; y a los órganos de administración de justicia:

Yo, José Pedro Castillo Terrones, como presidente constitucional de la República del Perú, elegido por la… pic.twitter.com/PN3jzHz2VZ

— Pedro Castillo Terrones (@PedroCastilloTe) July 10, 2026

He also requests the annulment of the legislative resolution that declared his presidential vacancy (removal) for moral incapacity, allegedly for not having respected his right to defense.

The document named the current interim president, José María Balcázar; the Minister of Justice, Luis Jiménez; Congress; the judges of the Permanent Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court; Supreme Judge Juan Carlos Checkley; and the Public Ministry as responsible for the alleged violation of Castillo’s freedom.

The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention opined that the capture of Castillo, who is serving an 11-year and 5-month sentence for his failed coup attempt in 2022, was “arbitrary,” and therefore stated that he should be “immediately released” and offered compensation “and other forms of reparation, in accordance with international law.”

Consulted on this matter, Balcázar declared on Friday that “this document modifies a bit the legal, and constitutional scenario of how a detained person can be pardoned.”

Balcázar, who will transfer the presidential command on July 28 to the right-wing Keiko Fujimori, winner of the second round on June 7 in Peru, added that he would await a petition from Castillo’s lawyers, which “will have to be analyzed in light of this new UN agreement,” he said.

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