October 26, 2020
The president of the Departmental Court of Justice (TDJ) of La Paz, Jorge Quino, announced Monday that it was dropping the accusation and order of apprehension that had been leveled against the Bolivian ex-president Evo Morales on the phony charges of crimes of sedition and terrorism.
The judicial authorities declared that it was agreeing with the motion filed by the defense of Morales, considering that fundamental rights of the ex-president were violated, such as the right to be able to defend oneself said Quino, in an interview with Unitel.
Morales was summoned to a hearing on Tuesday October 27 however the defense argued that the former president did not receive any summons or notification, which would have been done by edict, an action that is carried out when the house of the accused is not known..
“The former president was summoned by means of edicts, when in fact the prosecutors, even the press, were well aware that he was already living in Argentina,” said Quino.
He added that the judge warned that the error committed by the prosecutors was obvious as they were well aware that Morales was not in Bolivia and has ordered the dismissal of the charge and the arrest warrant.
This ruling in favor of Morales comes a week after the triumph of Luis Arce, of the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) – the party of the ex-candidate – in the presidential elections.
The original charges against Morales was presented by the Minister of the Interior of the de facto government of Bolivia, Arturo Murillo, and it came just days after the coup d’état against him, which forced his exit from the presidency and from the country.
The Bolivian authorities had asked Interpol for the arrest warrant against Morales at the beginning of October but they rejected it, considering that the crimes of sedition and terrorism of which he was being accused had a political motivation.
Source: RT, translation Resumen Latinoamericano, North American bureau