Supreme Court will debate controversial dismissal of supreme prosecutor in Peru

Havana, June 23 (RHC) The Supreme Court of Peru convened this Friday a full chamber (assembly) of its members to debate the disqualification and criminal complaint approved by Parliament against prosecutor Zoraida Ávalos.

The meeting will be held on the 28th and was called at the request of eight members of the highest institution who expressed concern about the measure taken against Ávalos and the possibility that it affects the independence of the justice system.

The magistrates, including the former heads of the Supreme Court César San Martín and Elvia Barrios, expressed this concern by asking the incumbent, Javier Arévalo, to convene an extraordinary full court (assembly) to discuss the issue.

"After the latest events related to the political disqualification of a senior prosecutor, we must discuss and reach agreements on a probable impact on the independence and autonomy of the justice system," says the collective letter sent by the magistrates to Arévalo.

Judicial sources reported that the request was made verbally before, without finding a response from the head, considered akin to the conservative congressional majority that last Wednesday disqualified Ávalos from performing public functions for five years and denounced her in court.

The drastic measures were adopted because the magistrate, when she was the Nation's prosecutor, opened a preliminary investigation into the then president Pedro Castillo for alleged corruption and immediately froze it because the Constitution grants immunity to heads of state.

The victim and various jurists argue that the measure affects the independence of the prosecutors and their power to interpret their decisions. The case gave rise to the reiteration of complaints of subjugation by the conservative parliamentary majority.

The Foundation for Due Process expressed itself in the same vein, describing the disqualification of Ávalos as an arbitrary act with serious institutional consequences that weaken the independence of the Prosecutor's Office.

The National Human Rights Coordinator, for its part, condemned the dismissal of the prosecutor and her prosecution and described them as part of the dismantling of the country's institutions by the parliamentary majority. (Source: PL)