Former Bolivian President Jeanine ñez tried to kill herself in prison

Government Minister Eduardo Del Castillo reported that former President Jeanine Áñez today attempted to self-harm by cutting off her arm. “I regret to inform the Bolivian people that Ms. Jeanine Áñez would have attempted to self-harm in the early hours of this morning; however, we report that his condition is stable and that he has a few small scratches on one of his arms and that there is nothing to worry about, ”said Del Castillo.

A few minutes later, from the environment of the former president, they gave their version, more alarming than that proposed by the government. “It’s a suicide attempt and it’s due to a cry for help,” he said. Page 7 one of his lawyers, Luis Guillén.

Guillén assured that this desperate measure is due to “abuse of which the former president is victim”.

The lawyer pointed out that during the last five months of detention, the prison regime administered drugs in the wrong way, in addition to drugs that are counterproductive to your health, which could have caused a framework of depression and paranoia which would have led her to make the decision to commit suicide. “Yesterday, I had the opportunity to participate in the medical council and I heard that the prison regime had misapplied the drugs that would have been prescribed to the ex-president, including drugs that would be counterproductive for his health and would generate unwanted effects such as high depression or even paranoia syndrome, ”he said.

Norka Cuéllar, another of his lawyers, said The duty that this fact is a “cry for help” due to what the former president is going through. “She feels very harassed and they have hit her weakest point, which is her daughter’s problem.” For the moment, the situation of the ex-president is critical, ”declared the lawyer, since the ex-authority you suffer from depression and high blood pressure that he is not being treated as he should.

Bolivian Attorney General Juan Lanchipa announced on Friday that he had filed a request to open a liability case against Áñez for the alleged crimes of genocide, serious and minor injuries followed by deaths due to the events in Sacaba and Senkata. , recorded as part of the 2019 post-election protests.

Áñez is imprisoned, charged with sedition, terrorism, conspiracy and now also genocide for her role in the post-election crisis of 2019.

International order

Former presidents Carlos Mesa (2003-2005), Jaime Paz Zamora (1989-1993) and Jorge Quiroga Ramírez (2001-2002) expressed their concern for Áñez’s health through a letter signed by all three, in which they launched an urgent appeal to the Judiciary and the State Attorney General’s Office to preserve the physical and psychological integrity of Áñez.

The three ex-presidents underline in the letter that the medical reports and the images of the former president show the “deterioration of her health”, for which they consider that it is “crucial and urgent to review her legal situation which allows her to defend herself “while safeguarding her right to liberty. Health”.

“Keeping the former president in detention can have dire consequences for her, her family and the country,” said the letter, which emphasizes placing human rights “above all political disputes.”

“We extend our concern to international human rights organizations, and we ask them to verify the physical and emotional situation of former President Jeanine Áñez,” the letter said.

In recent weeks, ñez has been released from Miraflores prison in La Paz where she is serving her pre-trial detention for the so-called “coup d’état” case to undergo various medical examinations during which she was seen several times in a wheelchair and with difficulty walking.

The family and defense of the ex-interim president have repeatedly expressed concern for the health of Áñez, who suffers from high blood pressure and anxio-depressive syndrome. They also denounced that Áñez is transferred to his medical examinations without informing the family or his lawyers, which the prison authorities have denied.

Weeks ago Áñez requested a hearing with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle bachelet, in a letter he posted this Tuesday on his social networks.

“I respectfully and sincerely request an audience for my daughter, Carolina Ribera Áñez, to participate on my behalf», Underlines ñez in the text, arguing that his imprisonment for more than four months is an obstacle to holding a personal interview with the head of the organization.

In the letter, the former acting president sets out the accusation against her of “to be the author of an alleged coup d’etat“But that in reality the crimes for which she is accused”have not been demonstrated“And that his incarceration is part of”a political decisionBy Bolivian President Luis Arce.

In the text, he points out that on November 12, 2019, he assumed the presidency in the middle of a “social unrest” and one “power vacuum“Which was born from the resignation of the main authorities of the National Executive and the Legislature. He also warns that “there is always a latent danger that you will have a cardiovascular event or cardiac arrest“Because of the high blood pressure he suffers from.

In writing, Áñez indicates that the version of a “coup” is “false” and that “every day it crumbles”.

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