A court on Friday sentenced former Bolivian President Jeanine Anes to 10 years in prison, more than a year after she was arrested on charges of conspiring to overthrow rival and predecessor Evo Morales, a suspicion many see as trumped up.
Anez, who has been in custody awaiting trial since March 2021, has repeatedly condemned what she sees as politically motivated persecution.
The former acting president will spend ten years in a women’s prison in La Paz, according to what the trial court announced in a decision three months after her trial began, knowing prosecutors were seeking a 15-year prison sentence. .
Anez was found guilty of crimes “unconstitutional and her negligence” and sentenced to “10 years in prison” on charges brought before she even took office when she was a senator.
And Anez previously said she would appeal if convicted, saying: “We will not rest on our laurels, we will turn to the international judiciary.” Former military commander William Kaliman and former police chief Yuri Calderon, both fugitives, were also sentenced to ten years in prison.
Anez is still pending in court in a separate case of sedition and other charges related to her short tenure as president.
Early in her term, Anez called on the police and army to restore order. According to the Commission on Human Rights in the Americas, 22 people have died in the post-election conflict.
Consequently, Anez is also charged with genocide, under which she could be sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison.
The right-wing Anez took over as acting president of Bolivia in November 2019 after Morales fled the country after announcing he would win a fourth consecutive presidential term, amid widespread protests and allegations of electoral fraud.
The Organization of American States said at the time that it found clear evidence of voting irregularities in favor of Morales, who has been in power for 14 years.
Several figures who could have succeeded Morales (mostly members of his MAS party) resigned and fled the country, leaving power in the hands of Anes, then Vice President of the Senate.
Although not much was known about her, the former TV presenter and lawyer declared herself acting president on November 12, 2019, two days after Morales’ resignation.
The Constitutional Court recognized the state of Agnes, but members of the MAS party considered it illegitimate.
A year later, elections were held, which were won by Morales’ ally Luis Arce. The latter returned to Bolivia in November 2020, after the presidency and Congress were in the hands of his party.
After the transfer of power to Arce, Anez was arrested in March 2021 on charges of seizing power on the basis of abuse.