(Lima) Peru’s President Dina Boluarte is to be questioned by the prosecutor’s office on Tuesday as part of an investigation to determine her responsibility for the deaths that occurred during protests against her government, a lawyer for the head of the country said on Sunday. State.
Mme Boluarte “wants to help uncover the truth,” his lawyer Kelly Montenegro told the newspaper El Comercio. “We will comply with everything that the prosecution asks for, she assured.
The prosecution has opened an investigation against Mr.me Boluarte on January 10 for alleged offenses of “genocide, aggravated homicide and grievous bodily harm” during anti-government protests in December 2022 and January 2023.
Several ministers and former ministers of his government are also targeted by this investigation.
Peru is embroiled in a serious political and social crisis that erupted on December 7 with the ousting and imprisonment of former left-wing president Pedro Castillo, replaced by his vice-president Dina Boluarte.
Mr. Castillo, 53, is accused of having attempted a coup d’etat by wanting to dissolve the Assembly which was preparing to oust him from power. He is serving an 18-month prison sentence in a detention center near Lima.
His fall after seventeen months in power sparked violent protests that left 48 dead and more than 600 injured in clashes between his supporters and law enforcement. Ten civilians and six soldiers were again injured on Saturday in the Puno region.
Protesters demand the resignation of Mr.me Boluarte, the dissolution of Parliament and the holding of early elections in 2023.