BOLIVIA: GOVERNMENT MUST REFRAIN FROM HARASSING AND THREATENING POLITICAL OPPONENTS AND RESPECT JUDI

BOLIVIA: GOVERNMENT MUST REFRAIN FROM HARASSING AND THREATENING POLITICAL OPPONENTS AND RESPECT JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE
29 May 2020, Index number: AMR 18/2428/2020

The government must respect judicial independence and refrain from harassing and threatening political opponents through the use of legal provisions, criminal proceedings, public statements and detention. The State Attorney General's Office must carry out an investigation into the arrest of Judge Hugo Huacani and bring those suspected of criminal responsibility to justice.

On 22 May, Judge Hugo Huacani was detained by the police in La Paz shortly before the start of a hearing in proceedings
against the recently dismissed former health minister, Marcelo Navajas, and other officials in the current government who
are accused of purchasing respirators at an inflated price in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. On 23 May, Judge
Huacani was released following a court decision that, according to available information, declared his detention unlawful.
That same day, the La Paz Attorney General's Office reported that it had not participated in the judge's arrest or issued an
arrest warrant against him. On 24 May, the Ministry of the Interior admitted in a statement that it had ordered his arrest
because it disagreed with the judge's decision to end the pre-trial detention of another person who was being prosecuted
in a terrorism case brought against the former Minister of the Presidency and member of the opposition Movement for
Socialism party, Juan Ramón

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Amnesty International considers that the detention of Judge Huacani was arbitrary because it was based solely on the fact
that the government authorities disagreed with a judicial decision. Furthermore, his detention and the accusations of the
Ministry of the Interior could affect the independence of a judicial process to clarify criminal responsibility for the alleged
misuse of resources intended to safeguard the life and health of patients in need of intensive care in the context of the
COVID-19 pandemic.

More:
https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/amr18/2428/2020/en/

Document:
https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/AMR1824282020ENGLISH.pdf