Preventive prison audience against Martín Vizcarra was reprogrammed for Wednesday 13

The seventh National Preparatory Investigation Court rescheduled for next Wednesday, August 13, the Hearing of Preventive Prison against the former president Martín Vizcarra in the case that is followed by alleged coimas received during his management as governor of Moquegua.

While the hearing had been scheduled for today, Judge Jorge Chávez Támariz suspended it to give time to the parties reviewing the new elements of conviction presented.

At the beginning of the hearing this Friday 8, Chávez Támariz rejected the objection presented by the defense of Vizcarra, the lawyer Erwin Siccha, to exclude the new elements of conviction that the Public Ministry presented to the Court. Siccha argued that the right to defense was being violated as it had not been notified.

As explained by the magistrate, the decision of the Appeals Chamber to declare void the previous resolution – which had rejected the request for pretrial detention – “retrograms the process at the time of postulation of preventive detention.” That is, it returns to the initial point and the Prosecutor’s Office is allowed to require its requirement and contribution new evidence.

“The right of defense is not violated because I have not even heard what are the arguments of the Public Ministry, and, where appropriate, the elements of conviction that have been presented will be transferred to the counterpart to debate them,” said Chávez Támariz. He added that, as in any audience of this type, the defense may also present its own elements of conviction.

Currently, Vizcarra fulfills a simple appearance – that is, he remains free without restrictions beyond attending judicial citations – after Congress approved Law 32130. This rule set a maximum period for appearances with restrictions, equating it to that of preventive detention. The judge questioned this comparison: “A preventive detention of a person who is deprived of his liberty in a jail is being equated, far from his family, in the face of an appearance with restrictions where he is not. But for Congress he gives him the same value.”

Given this scenario, the Prosecutor’s Office now seeks to revoke the simple appearance and the preventive detention is imposed. The judge explained that there are only two legal paths: the revocation of rules of conduct – which is not possible in this case because they no longer exist – or the variation of the coercive measure, provided for in article 255 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The latter allows to pass from simple appearance to preventive detention if new elements that comply with the budgets of article 268, such as the existence of “serious suspicion” on the crime and a procedural danger arise.

“There is no express norm that prohibits integrating new elements of conviction when there is a recognition of nullity,” said the magistrate, who also pointed out that there is no mandatory jurisprudence that prevents it. He cited failures of the United States Supreme Court, of the Inter-American Human Rights System and Cassation 1-2007 Guaura, which established that the presence of the accused at a preventive detention hearing is optional.

With these arguments, the judge declared the hearing installed, dismissed the observation of the defense and confirmed that the fiscal request will be evaluated as a variation of coercive measure. “The opportunity will be granted [a la defensa] so that I can evaluate it under what is an effective defense, ”he concluded.

PREVIOUS NOTE

Through a statement in its official networks, the National Superior Court set the hearing for 11:00 am at the Judicial Headquarters of Av. Tacna N ° 734, Cercado de Lima.

However, the resolution indicates that it is optional for Vizcarra to be present at the hearing and, if he decides to attend, he will be able to spend the word in accordance with what is established by law and the Political Constitution, the presence of his lawyer and the Prosecutor’s Office being mandatory.

As is known, the Superior Criminal Chamber decided to annul the resolution of Judge Víctor Alcocer who rejected the request for preventive detention against the former president. And now it will be another judge of first instance who reassess if Martín Vizcarra must be imprisoned preliminary.

In this new twist, prosecutor Germán Juárez has the goal of getting Vizcarra to face the process after bars. The accusation is not less. It is attributed to having received more than S/2.3 million in bribes linked to the works Lomas de Ilo and the Moquegua hospital. The requested penalty could bury his political career: 15 years in prison and nine disqualification.

The defense of the former president, headed by lawyer Erwin Siccha, was direct. He rejected any indication of procedural danger and described the prison order as “unfounded and disproportionate.” In his opinion, the current restrictive measures are sufficient to guarantee the presence of the ex -president in the process.

The Criminal Chamber considered that Judge Alcocer’s analysis was weak and that the case deserves to be evaluated from scratch. Now, the pressure falls on a new magistrate, who must decide if the signs are enough to give prison.

Receive your Peru21 by email or by WhatsApp. Subscribe to our enriched digital newspaper. Take advantage of discounts.

Recommended video