Overview
- This week the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention published Opinion 78/2025 saying Castillo’s arrest after his December 7, 2022 announcement to dissolve Congress lacked legal basis and recommending his immediate release and indemnification.
- The panel listed specific procedural flaws including no immediate access to a lawyer, use of a tribunal it found not competent, public statements that prejudged guilt and detention carried out without a judicial order.
- The opinion also asks Peru to carry out an exhaustive independent investigation and to adopt measures against officials it considers responsible, and the UN group said it will seek follow‑up information from the State.
- Peruvian authorities have not implemented the recommendations and the Foreign Ministry stressed the opinion is a non‑jurisdictional expert view that is not directly binding on domestic courts.
- President José María Balcázar said he will review the document because it could affect how any new pardon request is evaluated while Castillo’s allies have demanded release and planned public mobilizations.