Bolivian prison authorities said the state of health of former interim president of Bolivia, Jeanine ñez, was stable on Sunday (22), after injuring herself in prison with at least three cuts to her wrist. According to family members, she attempted to kill herself.
“We can categorically say that your health is stable. She is currently with her family in the penitentiary center. The family will be an important factor in restoring the morale of the prisoner, ”said Juan Carlos Limpias, director of the prison system, in an interview.
Jeanine suffers from severe depression as a result of her imprisonment, her daughter Carolina Ribera has said. She has been in prison since March. One of his lawyers said the injuries were a way of sending “a cry for help and help.”
Interior Minister Eduardo del Castillo said on Saturday (21) that Jeanine “would have tried […] if he was self-injuring “and had” small cuts on his arm. “
Opponent to former President Evo Morales, ñez was the second vice president of the Senate and was proclaimed interim president after resigning in November 2019 due to a controversial interpretation of the Constitution. She left power in November last year, following the election of Luis Arce, an Evo ally, and was arrested in March.
The 54-year-old former interim president is charged in three cases of genocide, terrorism, sedition, conspiracy, unconstitutional resolutions and violation of duties during her one-year presidential term (2019-2020).
Evo and the government of his ally Arce accuse the opposition of staging a coup with the support of the Church, the European Union and the governments of Argentinian Mauricio Macri and Ecuadorian Lenín Moreno – both have already left power in their country.
Yulia Babuzhina, representative of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, visited Áñez on Sunday at the women’s prison, but made no statement on the health of the policy.
A note from the Interior Ministry said the prison administration had agreed to have a relative sleep in the cell every night after Áñez recovered.
A group met this Sunday on the outskirts of the prison to request the transfer of the former president to a specialized clinic.
Áñez’s family have repeatedly requested that she be transferred to a hospital, where she can receive specialized medical treatment, mainly suffering from high blood pressure. She came to be sick, had exams and needed medical treatment last Wednesday.
The defense of the former governor had been rejected by the courts which asked Añez to be under house arrest.