LA PAZ — The Bolivian prosecutor's office said on
Friday it had filed charges of "genocide" and other crimes against
former acting president Jeanine Anez, over the death of 20 opposition protesters
in 2019.
اضافة اعلان
Attorney General Juan Lanchipa said he had presented
documents "against citizen Jeanine Anez" before the country's supreme
court of justice, including charges for "genocide," which carries a
sentence of 10 to 20 years in prison, according to the Bolivian penal code.
The conservative Anez came to power in November 2019 after
her predecessor and rival, former president Evo Morales, resigned following
weeks of protests over his controversial re-election to an unconstitutional
fourth term.
He fled the country after an election audit by the
Organization of American States (OAS) found evidence of fraud.
After the election, at least 37 people died in violence that
flared between supporters and opponents of Morales, as well as between
protesters and the security forces.
Most of the deaths came in clashes between Morales
supporters and security forces after the socialist leader's flight.
The specific accusation against Anez relates to two
incidents in November 2019 in which a total 22 people died. A report released
by the OAS on Tuesday described those incidents as "massacres."
Lanchipa said they had been "provisionally classified
as genocide, serious and minor injury and injury followed by death."
Bolivia's opposition has decried the lack of separation of
powers in the country, saying the courts, electoral body and public
prosecutor's office are all loyal to leftist President Luis Arce, who is also a
member of Morales's Movement for Socialism (MAS).
"First of all, we need to reform the judiciary because
it is not independent or autonomous," said centrist lawmaker Alejandro
Reyes.
"As long as there is no judicial reform, we cannot do
anything."
However, the case is unlikely to go to court, as for that to
happen, the supreme court must ask congress for authorization to hold Anez
responsible for what happened.
Authorization could only be given by a two-thirds majority,
and although MAS controls congress, it does not enjoy a sufficiently large
majority.
While MAS lost the presidency for a year to Anez, it never
gave up control of congress.
After Morales resigned, Anez was the most senior
parliamentarian left and was sworn in by congress as interim president, despite
the lack of a quorum, with MAS legislators boycotting the session.
MAS cried foul and accused the interim government of having
pulled off a coup.
Under Anez's administration, Bolivia held peaceful,
transparent elections in October 2020 in which Morales's protégé Arce stormed
to a landslide victory.
He subsequently vowed to go after those he accused of
staging a coup.
Anez was arrested in March 2021 on accusations of leading a
coup against Morales. She also faces other charges of terrorism, sedition and
conspiracy.
She has remained in pre-trial detention since then.
Her detention elicited widespread international
condemnation.
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