Bolivian ruling party denies violation of Áñez’s rights in prison

The government of Luis Arce and the ruling Movement for Socialism (MAS) denied this Thursday the violations of which the former interim president of Bolivia Jeanine Áñez said she was a victim in prison and assured that her rights are respected and even “enjoys privileges”.

The director general of the Penitentiary Regime, Juan Carlos Limpias, described as “irresponsible and political” the statements of the opposition deputy Janira Román, who the day before transmitted the complaints made by Áñez about his situation in prison to a parliamentary commission.

Limpias assured that the reports of the health personnel of the penitentiary administration and the reports of the private doctors of the ex-president distort the complaints.

According to the official, these reports, “say that no violation has been committed” regarding Áñez’s health, which is “stable and does not need any type of external medical attention”.

For their part, MAS deputies Juan José Jáuregui and Gladys Quispe, who visited Áñez with Román, assured that the former president enjoys privileges such as permanent visits, constant medical attention and a meal three times a day that other inmates do not receive.

All three parliamentarians are members of the Lower House Human Rights Commission.

“In a first visit made by the commission on March 23, the attention of three doctors was evidenced, two of them 24 hours a day. In this new visit it was demonstrated that the conditions are not isolation, “said Jáuregui, quoted in a press release from the Chamber of Deputies.

The first visit was made only by the pro-government deputies.

For Deputy Quispe, Áñez “does not assume her current status” of preventive detention and also rejected the complaints about violations of her rights.

THE COMPLAINTS

Áñez served a month in detention on Tuesday for the case called “coup d’état” based on allegations of alleged conspiracy, sedition and terrorism during the political and social crisis that occurred at the end of 2019 and that led to the resignation of Evo Morales from the Presidency and the annulment of the elections of that year amid allegations of fraud.

Deputy Román, who belongs to the opposition force Citizen Community (CC), said on Wednesday that Áñez denounced them that there is “an obstruction through the bureaucracy” to some of their rights such as timely care from their doctors.

“She also mentions that her rights are being violated by having her completely isolated, they do not let her access even a radio,” said Román.

Áñez also complained that the court order for her transfer to a hospital was not complied with due to the health problems caused by the hypertension she suffers and denounced that she was “psychologically tortured” for three days during which she was prevented from accessing the medications she has been taking since a decade ago, said the opposition parliamentarian.

The arrest of the former transitory president and two of her former ministers generated tensions between the ruling party, which defends that it seeks “justice” in the face of what it considers a “coup” against Morales, and the opposition that denounces a political “persecution”, in addition to pronouncements of international organizations that requested that due process be respected.