Bolivia's top court has ordered the release of Jeanine Anez, the country's former interim President who was convicted of illegally assuming power after ousting Evo Morales in 2019. Anez had been serving a 10-year prison sentence since her conviction in 2022, but the Supreme Court annulled the sentence citing "violations" of due process during her trial.
The court's decision means that Anez will be released from prison immediately, a move that has been hailed by her supporters. However, the ruling has also sparked criticism from Morales' supporters and human rights groups, who argue that Anez was found guilty of serious crimes and should not be let off scot-free.
Anez, a former conservative senator, declared herself Bolivia's interim leader in 2019 after Morales fled the country following mass demonstrations over alleged election fraud during his bid for a fourth term. Morales claimed he was the victim of a coup, but many observers saw Anez's actions as a coup of her own.
During her trial, Anez was convicted of illegally assuming power and undermining democracy, but the Supreme Court has now thrown out these charges, citing a lack of proper procedure in the trial. Justice Romer Saucedo said that the sentence against Anez had been annulled based on "violations" of due process during her trial.
The ruling comes just weeks after Bolivian voters elected Rodrigo Paz of the centre-right Christian Democratic Party (PDC) as their new president, ending almost 20 years of governance by Morales' left-wing Movement for Socialism (MAS). Anez did not immediately comment on the court's ruling, but had previously defended her record, saying she would "never regret having served my country when it needed me".
The court's decision means that Anez will be released from prison immediately, a move that has been hailed by her supporters. However, the ruling has also sparked criticism from Morales' supporters and human rights groups, who argue that Anez was found guilty of serious crimes and should not be let off scot-free.
Anez, a former conservative senator, declared herself Bolivia's interim leader in 2019 after Morales fled the country following mass demonstrations over alleged election fraud during his bid for a fourth term. Morales claimed he was the victim of a coup, but many observers saw Anez's actions as a coup of her own.
During her trial, Anez was convicted of illegally assuming power and undermining democracy, but the Supreme Court has now thrown out these charges, citing a lack of proper procedure in the trial. Justice Romer Saucedo said that the sentence against Anez had been annulled based on "violations" of due process during her trial.
The ruling comes just weeks after Bolivian voters elected Rodrigo Paz of the centre-right Christian Democratic Party (PDC) as their new president, ending almost 20 years of governance by Morales' left-wing Movement for Socialism (MAS). Anez did not immediately comment on the court's ruling, but had previously defended her record, saying she would "never regret having served my country when it needed me".
. Like, what even is due process these days? I'm not surprised the Supreme Court is just caving to Anez's lawyers and letting her off scot-free. I mean, she was found guilty of serious crimes and undermining democracy, but apparently that didn't count for much in a rigged trial. Morales' supporters are right to be upset about this - it's like justice is being served all over again 
. And now Anez gets to walk free after 10 years behind bars? That's just great, I'm sure she'll use her newfound freedom to wreak havoc on Bolivia again 
. Mark my words, this ruling will come back to haunt the country in a major way...
anyway, guess we'll just have to wait and see how things play out now. maybe Paz's gov will be more inclusive or something 
Can you believe this? Jeanine Anez goes from 10-year prison sentence to freedom in like a blink of an eye. I'm not saying the court was wrong or anything (although that's a big 'or' 
), but it's like they found her guilty of being a superhero who saved Bolivia by declaring herself president 
. On a more serious note, this is gonna make for some interesting politics with Morales supporters and Anez's new freedom. Maybe she'll just become the ultimate expert on democracy after serving time 
. Anyway, I'm gonna go enjoy my freedom too... from having to follow all these court decisions 
.
I gotta say, this whole situation is super sketchy. Release her after 10 years? I'm no fan of Morales' government either, but Anez was found guilty of some serious stuff... a coup, undermining democracy... can't just let that slide. 
. And suddenly, this chip starts talking to me like a person and telling me all these crazy stories about the history of Bolivian snacks 
. I mean, who knew there was so much drama behind those crunchy chips? 
. I mean, Jeanine Anez was convicted of serious crimes and now she's walking free? That doesn't add up 
. I think it's wild how some people can just declare themselves president and then expect everyone else to follow along 
. I can see why her supporters are celebrating, she did become interim leader during some pretty tumultuous times in Bolivia's history. But on the other hand, Morales' supporters must be like, really disappointed that she won't face consequences for what happened back in 2019 
.
jeanine anez is being released from prison after serving 10 years for allegedly assuming power in 2019. the court says she wasnt given a fair trial tho, which is kinda weird since weve seen some pretty shady stuff go down in bolivias history. 
im not sure if i agree with the court's decision or not...seems like a bunch of mixed signals to me. 
! I'm kinda confused though, like what even happened? 
She was found guilty of some major crimes and now she's walking free? 
Not sure if it's fair or not... some ppl are saying due process was all messed up during her trial #JusticeForAnez #DueProcessMatters 
#PoliticsIsWild #BoliviaInChaos
anyway, the fact remains that anez took over power without going through the proper channels and thats a big deal. but you also gotta wonder if this is gonna be a slippery slope and what other convictions get overturned...anyway, i guess its all good news for anez now 
.
. Until then, I'll be over here... just waiting to see what's next 
but I guess that's not how justice works in Bolivia 
if u ask me Anez is super lucky to be outta there after only serving 2 yrs of her 10 yr sentence 
just think about all the drama and power struggles in bolivia. i mean, we've seen what happens when morales leaves office - annez swoops in and assumes the role herself. now that she's outta jail, you'd think she'd be thrilled 
but her supporters are already celebrating while morales' people are up in arms 
and morales is... well, still trying to get back in the game