Bolivia: former interim president Jeanine Áñez is transferred to another prison

First modification: 03/20/2021 – 13:00

The case of the former interim president continues to cause a stir. Local media such as the state-run Bolivia TV and the newspaper La Razón reported that around 1:00 am (local time) on Saturday, Jeanine Áñez was transferred to the Miraflores Women’s Penitentiary Center. This is just 5 kilometers from the Obrajes women’s prison, where the politician had been held since Monday, March 15.

A video shows the moment when Áñez enters the prison and, just when they get her off the car in which they transported her, the ex-president says that they took her out of Obrajes, assuring her that they were taking her to a hospital.

And that was the request of his defense. Since the middle of the week, lawyer Norka Cuéllar tried to get the prison where the politics is confined to allow her transfer to the South Clinic, in La Paz.

Faced with the refusals, he went to court and on Friday afternoon (local time), the court of the 10th Sentencing Court agreed with him. The robes accepted the release action and determined that Áñez be taken immediately to the clinic, which is just two blocks from the penitentiary. The judges explained that the ex-president should be valued to “protect her life” and “safeguard her rights.”

The reason is that Áñez suffers from hypertension. During the virtual hearing, she herself told the judges that she has been decompensated since last Wednesday and with oxygen in the Obrajes prison, where she is being held. His defense added that Áñez’s life is at risk and that transfer to the hospital is required.

The Bolivian Prosecutor’s Office asked that Áñez’s health status be verified

However, the Attorney General’s Office appealed the court decision and argued that it was not necessary for Áñez to be taken to a clinic. His concept was that medical specialists or experts from the Institute of Forensic Investigations (IDIF) – dependents of the Prosecutor’s Office – should go to jail to “verify the state of health” of the policy before being transferred.

The State Attorney General’s Office is headed by Wilfredo Chávez, Evo Morales’ lawyer and who was sworn into office in November of last year, raising his left fist, the same gesture used by members of the ruling party Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS). .

The concept of the entity not only paused the transfer but, in the end, caused the judges to reverse their decision. The court accepted that the doctors or IDIF staff would go to the jail to check on Áñez.

The lawyer Cuéllar assures that Áñez herself told her on Friday night to enforce the judge’s order. In addition, Cuéllar affirmed that the ex-president’s state of health continues to deteriorate. The lawyer expected to continue with her efforts this Saturday, but now her plans are changing course with the new transfer to the Miraflores jail.

With EFE and local media