The European Parliament demanded the release of Jeanine Áñez in Bolivia: “We are witnessing with horror a wave of political persecution”

The majority of the European Parliament condemned this Thursday the arrest of the former interim president of Bolivia Jeanine Áñez and He asked the Bolivian authorities for his release and that of two of his imprisoned ministers and other politicians, as good as the withdrawal of charges against them for political reasons.

The condemnation resolution was adopted by 396 votes in favor, 267 against and 28 abstentions, and in her Áñez and his former collaborators are considered “political prisoners” and their arbitrary and unlawful detention is “denounced and condemned”.

Áñez has been in preventive detention for more than a month for the “coup” case, on the basis of allegations of alleged conspiracy, sedition and terrorism during the political and social crisis that occurred at the end of 2019 and which has led to the resignation of Evo Morales as president and the annulment of this year’s election amid allegations of fraud.

In this context, the European Parliament underlines that Áñez “fully fulfilled her duty as second vice-president of the Senate, filling the presidential vacuum” left by Morales and recalled that the Plurinational Court of Bolivia supported the transfer of powers to Jeanine Áñez.

During the parliamentary debate on this issue, the European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, Oliver Varhelyi, underlined that Brussels had already publicly requested that the accusations against Áñez related to the events of 2019 be dealt with in a judicial process “transparent and fair, in complete independence, without political pressure and in full respect of the division of powers”.

On the other hand, the vice-president of the European Parliament, the Czech Dita Charanzová, expressed shortly after the approval of the resolution: “We all hoped that the last elections in Bolivia would mark a positive change, that they would restore peace in such a divided country, but the opposite is true. product”.

“We have witnessed with horror a wave of political persecution. Let’s be clear: the presidential succession in 2019 was constitutional. The European Union, among others, supported the OAS audit of the transitional government of Jeanine Áñez “, added.

The community delegation from La Paz is in contact with the family of the former interim president and with the United Nations representative who regularly visits Áñez in prison. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International also described the prosecution against Áñez as political.

In its resolution, the European Parliament “expresses its concern about the lack of independence and impartiality of the Bolivian judicial system and the prevalence of structural problems; notes that this lack of independence affects access to justice and, more generally, undermines citizens’ confidence in the national judicial system ”.

MEPs call on Bolivia for “structural changes and reforms” in the composition of its judicial system and that the “widespread problem” of corruption in the country be addressed, as well as to change the definitions of terrorism in the Criminal Code to make them more proportionate.

In addition, they are asking the Bolivian prosecution to reopen the investigation into the alleged transfer by the Morales government of $ 1.6 million of public funds through irregular payments to the consultancy firm Neurona.

In Bolivia, the ruling party had anticipated this European resolution on Wednesday. The Chamber of Deputies, controlled by the ruling Movement for Socialism (MAS), yesterday approved a Declaration of rejection of interference by international organizations in Bolivian affairs. And former President Evo Morales tweeted: “We reject the interventionist initiative promoted by the far right in the European Parliament which promotes impunity for deaths and serious human rights violations during the coup “.

And for his part, Carolina Ribera, daughter of former President Jeanine Áñez, thanked the European Parliament for its position. “This is further proof that my mother’s government has been and continues to be supported by the international community. We hope that the national government will take this resolution with the respect it deserves (…) and will not try to silence it with senseless attacks, ”he told the local press.

With information from EFE

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