Bolivian court extends Áñez’s preventive detention for three months

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A Bolivian court on Monday extended the preventive detention of former interim President Jeanine Áñez and two of her former ministers for another three months as part of a case brought against them at the request of the government over the 2019 crisis.

Tenth Criminal Judge Armando Zeballos ruled to extend the pretrial detention of Áñez and her former ministers Álvaro Coímbra and Rodrigo Guzmán “for three months” in a virtual hearing held yesterday that lasted several hours until late at night.

Two prosecutors requested to extend pretrial detention in the case: the Interior Ministry and the Attorney General’s Office.

A new hearing to examine the legal status of the three defendants was scheduled for May 16, the judge added.

At the end of the hearing, the message “I am still being punished according to the will of my executioners” appeared on the former interim president’s social networks, which her relatives manage. The terrorism case does not exist; they have not proven anything since they kidnapped me.”

“I am innocent and have been a political prisoner for 11 months. Instead of giving me back my freedom, they extended my sentence for three more months. I continue my strike against (injustice),” the release continues.

In the ” Coup I ” case, the former president and her ministers were imprisoned for 11 months the “Coup I” case. They are accused of sedition, terrorism, and conspiracy in connection with the 2019 post-election crisis that led to the resignation of then-President Evo Morales.

The ruling party claims that Morales’ resignation resulted from an alleged coup d’état. At the same time, his opponents assert that it resulted from accusations of alleged electoral fraud in his favor in the failed 2019 general elections, which were later annulled.

HE MAINTAINS THE STRIKE

Áñez began a hunger strike thirteen days ago before the start of the trial for another process, called “Coup II,” which refers to her actions when she was second vice president of the Senate to assume the presidency in 2019 in an allegedly irregular manner, according to the ruling party, after the resignations of Morales and the entire presidential succession.

The former president’s health has deteriorated again as a result of this measure, in which she assured that she would stay, considering herself “political prey” of the government of Luis Arce.

“Therefore, I am on the 13th day of my hunger strike, and I will not end it even if it costs me my life, but may this sacrifice I make serve other Bolivians to find the justice that I have not found until now,” Áñez said during today’s hearing.

The former president asked the judge to “comply with the law” and asserted that extending her detention was inappropriate because she was not responsible for the prosecution’s “failure to take all appropriate measures in almost a year of detention.”

Last Friday, pro-government groups prevented Áñez from being transferred to a hospital as ordered by a judge, who ruled that he should receive medical care inside the prison.