A Bolivian court has found former President Jeanine Anez guilty of orchestrating a coup that brought her to power during a 2019 political crisis and sentenced her to 10 years in prison.
Anez, 54, was convicted on Friday of making “decisions contrary to the constitution” and of “dereliction of duty”. The prosecution said Anez, then a right-wing senator, violated norms that guarantee the constitutional and democratic order after Bolivia’s 2019 presidential elections.
Anez maintains she is innocent. Her defence said it would appeal to international bodies to seek justice, and several sectors of the opposition planned marches to protest against the ruling.
The court also sentenced former Armed Forces commander Williams Kaliman and ex-police commander Vladimir Calderon to 10 years in prison. Four other former military chiefs received lesser sentences.
Bolivia has been split over whether a coup occurred when then-President Evo Morales resigned in 2019, with Anez ascending to the presidency amid a leadership vacuum left in his wake.
Credit: Aljazeera.com
