Jeanine Áñez Coup d'État Trial Resumes in Bolivia

On Monday, April 6, the Coup d’État II trial against former de facto president of Bolivia, Jeanine Áñez, resumed in court. However, after Áñez suffered a health complication at the Miraflores prison, where she was following the trial via videoconference, the president of the First Anti-Corruption Sentencing Court of La Paz, Germán Ramos, decided to suspend the hearing for the day, and announced that hearings will restart on Tuesday.

The hearing on Monday lasted more than six hours, and many aspect of the trial were discussed, such as a complaint filed by Áñez’s defense, challenging a previous resolution of unconstitutionality which had been rejected.

On June 4, the Constitutional Court rejected a request by Áñez’s lawyers to postpone the restart of the trial, alluding to a lack of arguments by the prosecution.

“The Admission Commission of the Plurinational Constitutional Court, subject to article 13.1 of the Constitutional Code of Procedures, resolves to reject the request filed by Jeanine Áñez,” read the decision.

The judge also rejected another request by the defense, who requested that Áñez assume her defense in person.

The Attorney General of Bolivia has asked for a sentence of 15 years in prison for the former de facto president Áñez, accused of organizing a coup against former president Evo Morales, in 2019. Áñez has been held in Miraflores prison as a preventive measure since March 2021.

Áñez faces two trials, one that resumed this Monday, in which she is accused of breach of duties and resolutions contrary to the Constitution duty of a senator. This is the Coup d’État II case, which is about the unconstitutional manner in which Áñez assumed the presidency of Bolivia after the coup that overthrew the Morales government.

In the other case, called the Coup d’État I case, she has been accused of terrorism, sedition and conspiracy. This case deals with the massacre of 35 people in Sakaba and Senkata, committed by Bolivian military and police forces that attacked peaceful protesters demonstrating against the coup and the illegal assumption of power by Áñez and her associates.

Victimas y activistas por los derechos humanos en vigilia fuera del Tribunal. La sesión del juicio contra Jeanine Añez, convocada para las 14, aún no se instala @temasteleSUR @teleSURtv pic.twitter.com/dHRWRL85EA
— Freddy Morales (@FreddyteleSUR) June 6, 2022

On Monday, families of victims of the coup as well as human rights activists staged a demonstration outside the court during the hearing, demanding justice.

(RedRadioVE) by Ana Perdigón, with Orinoco Tribune content

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/GMS/SC/EF