Peruvian court approves extended pre-trial detention for Castillo

LIMA (Reuters) – Peru’s former President Pedro Castillo will remain behind bars during 18 months of pre-trial detention, a judicial panel within the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday, after the ex-leader was ousted last week by lawmakers and arrested on rebellion charges.

The judicial decision did not touch on the merits of the accusations faced by Castillo, but only whether or not he can be held in jail while prosecutors conduct their investigation into the charges, which also include the crime of conspiracy.

(Reporting by Marco Aquino; Editing by Anthony Esposito)