Bolivia: sentence Jeanine Áñez to six additional months in prison | They opened another criminal case against the former de facto president

A judge in La Paz on Tuesday ordered a second pre-trial detention of six months for the former de facto detained president Jeanine ñez, by accepting another ordinary criminal complaint for his performance in the November 2019 coup that overthrew Evo Morales.

The order was issued when the de facto ex-president of Bolivia he was about to complete five of the six months in prison since the opening of the trial against those responsible for the 2019 democratic interruption.

Prosecutors leading the process decided last weekend to split the original case into two regular trials: one for sedition, terrorism and conspiracy; and another, reason for the second preventive detention, for breach of duties and resolutions contrary to the Constitution.

The second arrest warrant, which according to local media will take effect immediately, implies that Áñez will be confined at least until early February 2022. This, without excluding other sanctions that could result from other ordinary processes and the various liability lawsuits that the parliament is about to vote.

The first process was initiated on the basis of a complaint from former MP Lidia Patty of the ruling Movement Towards Socialism (MAS). This request was joined by the President of the Senate Masista, Andrónico Rodríguez; the government ministry and the state attorney general’s office, with complaints from breach of duties and violation of constitutional standards, which will henceforth be treated as a separate case.

“What is happening is absolutely irregular; no one can be prosecuted twice for the same fact and obviously the indivisibility of a trial is prohibited by the Constitution”, complained lawyer Luis Guillén, defender of ‘Áñez, at a press conference after the virtual hearing this afternoon. The lawyer declined to confirm whether his client, who is serving a custodial sentence in a central La Paz women’s prison, will appeal the original proceedings division and the new court order.

“They are dividing a process to extend the detention of Jeanine ñez; they impose in a precautionary hearing another six months of unjust deprivation of liberty, violating human rights and guarantees”, denounced the collaborators of Áñez in the account Twitter which appears on behalf of the former de facto ruler.

Añez, who claims to be a “political prisoner”, is accused, in both cases, of having seized power illegally, having proclaimed herself president of the Senate, a position which did not correspond to her because she came from the parliamentary minority, to assume later, without legislative vote, the presidency of Bolivia.