Luis Escobar / La Paz
The Anticorruption and Violence Court No. 1 of La Paz issued preventive detention against Judge Rafael Alcón in the San Pedro prison under four arguments: he can flee the country, he has criminal proceedings with the same complaints of which he is accused now as malfeasance, for his ability to suppress court documents and influence the statements of other witnesses.
“It is determined that for the moment the man must defend himself with preventive detention for six months. Likewise, the accused party is warned and can be appealed in the following 72 hours”, details the judicial resolution.
Rafal Alcón was accused of malfeasance because in December 2019 he allowed Richard Choque to leave prison, who was charged and sentenced to 30 years in prison without the right to pardon for murdering a young woman in 2013. The criminal, being free , took the lives of at least two teenage girls last year and abused 77 others.
The first of the reasons for which he was sentenced to imprisonment for six months was the migratory flow. “Alcón has the facility to travel to other countries or remain hidden,” established justice. Hours before, the Public Ministry observed that he makes trips to Peru to have family and friends in that country.
The second reason confirmed by the judge was the “repeated criminal activity” of Alcón, having five other criminal proceedings. “It draws the attention of the Public Ministry that these crimes are related to what is being investigated today. (…) and it cannot be established that the accused Alcón would have merited a decision rejecting or dismissing these cases. Nor were the processes concluded with contrary resolutions, prevarication and breach of duties, ”he added.
The third reason was based on the disappearance of the file of the femicide Richard Choque. “He managed to make the file disappear along with other people. Proof of this is that on January 28, 2022, a raid was carried out on the courts of El Alto and La Paz, where it was established that the file was missing. Likewise, there are no registrations or cancellations on these documents, ”he said.
“In that logic – added the judge – the accused could modify, destroy the books and records, and the accused can make other documents disappear.”
Finally, the fourth of the reasons for his imprisonment is that he has the possibility of “influencing the people who are going to give statements”.
For its part, the defense showed that Rafael Alcón has a home, work and family, which are natural roots to prevent him from escaping, but they were not enough for him to continue the process with house arrest or freedom.
