An anti-corruption court in La Paz resumed the hearing, which the 54-year-old former president attends by videoconference from a women’s prison, where she has been held since March 2021, according to the AFP news agency.
The defense of the former president had requested the suspension of the trial.
The lawyers argued that before this judicial instance, the Plurinational Constitutional Court (TCP) had to respond to the appeal filed by Añez in which he requested to express himself on the unconstitutionality of the crimes attributed to him: breach of duties and resolutions contrary to the Constitution and the laws.
The lawyers argued that the TCP did not rule on that request and, therefore, the trial could not be resumed until there is a decision.
With this request, Añez and his defense tried to stop the resumption of the trial.
The trial had been suspended in early May, when the former president’s lawyers filed the unconstitutionality claim with the TCP.
Áñez had filed a complaint with the TCP, “in accordance with constitutional procedure, due to the deliberate omission of the Constitutional Court to rule on the merits of the illegality of the trial against the former President”according to the Twitter account managed by the ex-president’s daughter.
The state attorney general, Juan Lanchipa, said at a press conference that a sentence of 15 years in prison will be requested.although Áñez alleges that she should not be subjected to these trials but to a trial of responsibilities or privilege as former president.
The prosecution “already has prepared the presentation of the final arguments at the indicated hearing, where the Public Ministry will ask the Sentencing Court for a sentence of 15 years for Mrs. Jeanine Añez,” he said. boat.
The former senator also faces several simultaneous trials, including the so-called “Coup d’Etat I case” and “Coup d’Etat case II.” Case I is for her acts as president and case II for her acts as senator. The first is detained in parliament.
Morales was forced to resign in the face of a wave of protests after the 2019 electionsin which he sought a fourth term, while the opposition denounced that he had committed fraud.
Áñez assumed the Presidency after the resignation of Morales, Vice President Álvaro García and the President of the Senate, his first Vice President and the head of the Chamber of Deputies, who were in the order of presidential succession.
Lanchipa also said that his agency is unaware of Áñez’s “constitutional complaint.”
Even so, he considered that it is a resource that does not have a suspensive effect on the trial.
If the trial continues, the Prosecutor’s Office as the accusing party will present the arguments, then the accusers such as the Ministry of Government and the State Attorney General’s Office will follow, and then it will be up to the defense of the accused so that it can close the arguments phase.
Once this procedure has concluded, the Sentencing Court will deliberate and issue the corresponding sentence.
In the accusation presented by the Public Ministry, more than 70 pieces of evidence and almost twenty witness statements were presented accusing the former president of having adapted her conduct to the criminal types of breach of duties and resolutions contrary to the Constitution and the Laws.
The former president’s lawyer, Luis Guillen, denounced that, despite not having a response from the Constitutional Court to the appeal, it is intended to pass sentence when “as long as the Constitutional Court does not issue its last word, the trial should not be reinstated”.
“However, they will do it prevaricatingly; we are requesting procedural sanitation and we hope that the Court complies with the norm. We are going to attend the hearing, but that does not mean that we endorse these irregularities,” said the lawyer, according to local radio Trust.
Source: Ambito
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
