Former Bolivian interim President Jeanine Áñez was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Friday on charges linked to her assumption of office in 2019 amid violent protests that led to the resignation and exile of her predecessor, Evo Morales.
Ms. Áñez was convicted by the court of dereliction of duty and acting against the constitution when she proclaimed herself President in what Mr. Morales and his party have called a coup.
Ms. Áñez's supporters deny it was a coup, saying Mr. Morales' alleged abuse of power triggered a legitimate uprising in the streets.
The ouster of Bolivia's first Indigenous President and his Vice President created a power vacuum that allowed Ms. Áñez to assume the interim presidency as second President of the Senate, they claim. The defence said she will appeal the decision.
“I did not lift a finger to become President, but I did what I had to do to pacify a country that Morales left convulsed as he fled,” Ms. Áñez said from the prison where she is being held.
Vote-rigging in Bolivian election
Mr. Morales stepped down following nationwide protests over suspected vote-rigging in an October 20 election, which he claimed to have won to gain a fourth term in office. Mr. Morales has denied there was fraud. The protests left 37 dead and forced Mr. Morales to take refuge in Mexico.
His party, known by its initials in Spanish MAS, returned to power in 2020 elections and Mr. Morales has since returned to Bolivia.
The trial sets a “historic precedent” against impunity, said MAS deputy Juan José Jáuregui.
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.
Outside the prison where she was being held about 50 people held posters protesting Mr. Áñez.
