Bolivia Rejects European Stance on Trial of 2019 Coup Leader

On Wednesday, Bolivia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected the statements issued by the United Kingdom Foreign Office and the spokesperson for the High Representative of the European Union (EU) about the criminal proceedings against Jeanine Añez, the former Senator who self-proclaimed president of Bolivia during the 2019 coup d'état.

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These communiqués "are not consistent with a relationship of mutual respect, express an unacceptable colonial position and distort the Communiqué of the Technical Mission in Bolivia of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) as well as the expressions of the special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers," the Bolivian diplomacy said.

Previously, on June 19, referring to those involved in the criminal proceedings related to the presidential self-proclamation, Peter Stano, the spokesman for the High Representative of the European Union argued that the trial against Añez did not fully respect due process.

Two days later, the British Foreign Office also issued a statement expressing concern about possible political interference in the trial against the 2019 coup leader.

The Bolivian Foreign Affairs Ministry explained that the OHCHR Communiqué was made within the framework of an observation protocol, which was prepared with the prior acceptance of the parties to the process and seeking to avoid their undue interference in the justice authorities.

The Bolivian state "has shown a broadest willingness so that the United Nations agencies carry out the follow-up and possible observations of the Añez process," the Foreign Affairs Ministry stated.

This attitude of collaboration, however, does not imply "under any circumstances, interference in the decisions that the Bolivian justice can adopt sovereignly" based on what is established by the Constitution and international humanitarian law.