Bolivians protest against gender violence

Hundreds of people, most of them women, marched on Monday demanding justice against gender-based violence in Bolivia after the case of a serial rapist who was released after receiving a conviction for murder was uncovered, again putting the justice of the South American country into question.

Over the weekend, Judge Rafael Alcón Aliaga was arrested and preventively sent to prison for six months on suspicion of breach of duties and malfeasance —which implies that an authority knowingly issues an unfair resolution— among others, in the case of Richard CH. The sentenced man had to serve a 30-year prison sentence without the right to pardon, but was released after serving three years for allegedly suffering from a serious illness.

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“Judges, prosecutors, the same crap!” shouted the marchers as they passed through the Public Ministry and the courts in the city of La Paz, the seat of government.

The Government Minister, Eduardo del Castillo, reported that Richard CH, has the profile of a sexual psychopath. The police found in his home two buried bodies of two missing young women after investigations for a complaint of alleged human trafficking and pimping.

“I pray for all these people. That the judge who has freed this man… that they give him 30 years of punishment”, said Felix Cañaviri, a father of a family who lost his daughter seven years ago after a femicide.

Neighbors of Richard CH were also at the march. who asked for their house to be demolished and handed over to the police. Last week, neighbors entered the home, found women’s clothing and gold jewelry.

Demonstrators shout slogans and march to protest against gender violence, particularly against the disappearance of women and femicides in La Paz, Bolivia. (Photo: AP/Juan Karita) (Juan Karita/)

Bolivian justice is going through a crisis. The Minister of Justice, Iván Lima, recently reported that the special rapporteur of the United Nations Organization (UN), Diego García-Sayán, will arrive in the country in mid-February to assess the independence of justice.

“We need an independent justice and we are not going to cease the effort so that this objective is achieved”, Lima said recently.

The opposition claims to the government of Luis Arce, political heir of Evo Morales, that justice is not impartial and that it is used to carry out political persecution against those who do not think differently. The government has denied the claim.

Demonstrators march to protest against gender violence, particularly against the disappearances of women and femicides in La Paz, Bolivia. (Photo: AP/Juan Karita) (Juan Karita/)

In Bolivia, 65% of those deprived of liberty, some 11,000 people, are preventive prisoners without sentence.

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Source: Elcomercio