A Bolivian court has found former President Jeanine Áñez guilty of orchestrating a coup that brought her to power during a 2019 political crisis.
She was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Áñez, 54, was convicted on Friday of making “unconstitutional decisions” and “breach of duty.”
The prosecution said Áñez, then a right-wing senator, violated the rules that guarantee constitutional and democratic order after the 2019 Bolivian presidential election.
Bolivia has been divided over whether a coup took place when then-President Evo Morales resigned in 2019, with Áñez rising to the presidency amid a leadership vacuum. Morales’ march followed the mass protests for a contested election in which he claimed to have won a controversial fourth consecutive term in office.
Áñez claims that he is innocent. The controversial case has further exposed the failures in a deeply divided country while fueling concerns about its judicial process.
“We are concerned about how this case has unfolded and we ask the higher courts to examine how the proceedings were conducted,” Cesar Muñoz, a senior researcher for the Americas, told Human Rights Watch.
Áñez could not attend the trial in person, but followed the trial and participated from prison. She has been detained since her arrest in March 2021 on charges of terrorism, sedition and conspiracy.
Members and supporters of the Morales Movement for Socialism (MAS), which returned to power in 2020, say Áñez played a key role in what he says was a coup against Morales, the first president. indigenous people of Bolivia, who oversaw a dramatic reduction in poverty. president from 2005 to 2019.
As president, Áñez criticized political adjustment when his administration prosecuted former MAS officials.
Áñez’s supporters say his trial was illegitimate and political. At the trial, Áñez said it was a product of the circumstances and that his rise to the top ranks helped calm a tense nation and lay the groundwork for the October 2020 elections.
“I didn’t lift a finger to be president, but I did what I had to do,” Áñez said in his final statement to the judge. “I assumed the presidency out of obligation, as established by the constitution.”