The Bolivian prosecution requested this Sunday six months in preventive prison against the former right-wing president Jeanine Añez, in a case of alleged coup against former president Evo Morales, international organizations calling for a transparent judicial process.
Read also: The triumphant return of Evo Morales to Bolivia
Three prosecutors signed the indictment for the application of "
precautionary measures consisting of preventive detention [...] for a period of six months
" in prisons in La Paz, the document published on Sunday said.
Television showed images of the former leader on Saturday as she arrived at El Alto airport in La Paz, in the presence of the Minister of the Interior and several police officers.
Targeted by an arrest warrant for "
sedition
" and "
terrorism
", she immediately described her detention as "
illegal
" in front of the press.
The government "
accuses me of having participated in a coup that never took place,
" wrote on Twitter Ms. Añez, arrested in the Amazonian town of Trinidad, 600 kilometers from the capital.
Once in La Paz, she was taken to the prosecutor's office for questioning.
Evo Morales (2006-2019) denounced the “
dictatorship
” of Ms. Añez's government, during which he himself had been investigated for sedition and terrorism.
He demanded that
those responsible for the “
coup
” of November 2019
be “
sanctioned
”
.
Exile then return to Morales
Following the October 2019 presidential election, in which Evo Morales was running for a fourth term, and the confusion surrounding the results giving him the winner, the opposition cried out fraud.
Unrest and violence followed the ballot, which was finally canceled.
Amid protests in which at least 35 people were killed, police and military withdrew their support for Evo Morales.
The latter had finally resigned before going into exile in Mexico and then in Argentina.
Jeanine Añez, second vice-president of the Senate, was sworn in on November 12, 2019. Evo Morales's party then denounced a “
coup
”.
Evo Morales returned to Bolivia after his runner-up Luis Arce won the October 2020 presidential election.
"
Transparency
"
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for respect for "
fair procedures and full transparency
," in a statement from his spokesperson.
The European Union also reacted through the voice of its head of diplomacy, Josep Borrell, who tweeted: "
The accusations for the events of 2019 must be resolved within the framework of transparent justice and without political pressure, in the respect for the independence of powers.
"
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) of the Organization of American States (OAS) said on Twitter that it "
urges the Bolivian state to respect inter-American standards in terms of guarantees, independence and judicial protection
”.
