He Legal Defense Institute (IDL) and the National Human Rights Coordinator (CNDDHH) urgently requested the election of a new person in charge of the Prosecutor’s Office on an interim basis, replacing Tomás Gálvez, who they consider “does not meet the constitutional requirement of being and appearing independent, but, on the contrary, is even a political actor.”
The request was presented to the Board of Supreme Prosecutors of the Public Ministry and supports its requirement by arguing that the designation of Tomás Gálvez is null and void.
Political connection
According to the applicants, the Gálvez’s appointment He would have incurred the assumption of nullity of the administrative act, because after his dismissal, he registered in a political party and had a vocal candidacy for the presidency of the Republic.
“A real political condition that the ruling of the Constitutional Court did not take into account and that does not disappear with the decision to eliminate the process by which he was dismissed. The National Board of Justice also did not take this condition into account, which is why it re-enabled him the title of supreme prosecutor. Such a factual situation of the lawyer Tomás Gálvez is materially incompatible with the position of prosecutor who, like any justice operator, must be and appear independent, in accordance with article 2, numeral 6 of the Law of the Fiscal Career (No. 30483) and incompatible with the function of “ensuring the independence of the jurisdictional bodies and the proper administration of justice”, according to article 159 paragraph 2 of the Constitution”, it reads.
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Removal of prosecutors and other allegedly irregular events
Furthermore, they point out that the current prosecutor of the Nation (i) “has committed three serious acts, with which he has violated his duty to protect legality and respect the legal system.”
The first is the removal from office of two provisional prosecutors, prosecutors Elena Carolina Delgado (former provisional supreme prosecutor) and Alejandra Cárdenas (former provisional supreme deputy prosecutor), “who are investigating and requesting information, respectively, on facts of criminal relevance that directly involve him.”
These events would be related to the “alleged involvement of political power (Luis Valdez, César Acuña, Alianza Para el Progreso), so that the lawyer Tomás Gálvez is appointed as supreme prosecutor, through negotiations with former advisors of the National Council of the Judiciary.”
In addition to this, they point out that Gálvez would have directly failed to comply with the supranational standard of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IDC), in the case “Casa Nina vs. Peru” of November 24, 20202, “by removing two provisional prosecutors” without the necessary scenario for this being met.
As a third fact, they point out that prosecutors Carolina Delgado and Alejandra Cárdenas would have interfered in the function of provisional prosecutors. This affects, the document explains, not only the fiscal independence of said justice operators, but has also generated a negative impact on the Public Ministry’s duty to prosecute crime.
They ask that Patricia Benavides abstain from voting
For all these reasons, they ask the Board of Supreme Prosecutors to attend to the request as a matter of urgency. Likewise, they asked that the supreme prosecutor Patricia Benavides abstain from evaluating and voting due to “conflict of interest” and, finally, that a new election be held for the position of interim Prosecutor of the Nation.
“It is worth mentioning that, since the facts of this request are linked to the “White Collars” case, it will be brought to the attention of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (follow-up to hearing), as well as the United Nations Special Rapporteur for the Independence of the judiciary and lawyers, due to its significance for the independence of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the fight against corruption,” it reads.
