Weekly Report - 07 April 2022 (WR-22-14)

After two false starts, on 4 April the trial of Bolivia’s former president Jeanine Áñez (2019-2020) finally began. Over a year has passed since her arrest in March 2021, when she was charged with a wide array of offences including sedition, terrorism, conspiracy, and corruption. Her supporters maintain that she is entering a kangaroo court and have little hope for a fair trial. The government, meanwhile, insists that due process will be followed and have portrayed the commencement of the trial as an important step towards justice for the 21 demonstrators killed by the security forces shortly after Áñez took power in November 2019.