Bolivian Parliament committee calls for prosecution of former de facto President Áñez

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Plural Justice Commission of the Bolivian Parliament urgently summoned the Attorney General, Juan Lanchipa, to clarify his inaction with respect to the request for the prosecution of former de facto president, Jeanine Áñez, accused of crimes for having ordered the repression of demonstrators against the movement that overthrew Evo Morales in 2019.

The Sacaba and Senkata protests, towns where the repression was fiercest under Áñez’s presidency, resulted in 30 deaths and many wounded.

“We have sent a request for a written report and there was no response, therefore it was agreed that the prosecutor should appear before the commission to present his oral report on the trial process,” said the president of the Plural Justice Commission of the Chamber of Deputies, Andres Flores.

The legislator, from the ruling Movimiento Al Socialismo (MAS), which holds a parliamentary majority, noted that Lanchipa “must act ex officio,” but complained that “he did nothing” to proceed with the case against Áñez, ignoring a decision passed by Parliament in October last year.

In a resolution resulting from an investigation into the killings that occurred in the early days of Áñez’s administration, in November 2019, Parliament recommended that the Prosecutor’s Office should “initiate a responsibility proceeding against her for the commission of identified illegal deeds,” among them genocide.

The main argument of the parliamentary resolution against the former de facto president concerns a decree that ordered the deployment of the military to repress demonstrations, freeing them beforehand from potential criminal liability.

Last October’s parliamentary resolution also recommended regular proceedings against ex-ministers and ex-military and police chiefs responsible for the repression that killed 30 demonstrators.

Flores said that the commission he chairs scheduled Lanchipa’s report for next Tuesday, “as a matter of urgency because the issue is being unnecessarily delayed” and in response to a recent statement by the attorney general who said that proceedings against Áñez had not been initiated.

“The people are asking for justice and Parliament expects its recommendation for a trial of responsibilities to be heeded,” Flores warned.

For his part, the prosecutor declared last Sunday that he had not considered starting proceedings against Áñez because the Parliament’s recommendation was not a formal “indictment request,” as required by the rules in force for this kind of case. He explained that after receiving an indictment request, which could be issued by the Parliament itself, the Prosecutor’s Office would then issue its opinion either approving or rejecting the case.

If so, the potential lawsuit would need to be approved by two thirds of the votes cast by Parliament and referred to the Supreme Court of Justice.

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