Juan Pérez Munguía / La Paz
At least 15 civic leaders and their families are pressured and harassed to reveal the whereabouts of senior civic leaders Juan Carlos Manuel and Ramiro Subia, the Potosinista Civic Committee (Comcipo) denounced. Both have an arrest warrant against them and are in hiding.
Last week, the Police deployed approximately 2,000 soldiers to arrest civic leaders. Marco Pumari was arrested for the burning of the Departmental Electoral Tribunal (TED) in 2019.
Manuel, president of Comcipo, is accused of being responsible for the damage to a police vehicle and is accused of aggravated robbery. Subia is also a defendant for damages to the TED during the post-electoral conflicts.
Roxana Graz, who is now the top leader of Comcipo, indicated that in recent days Manuel’s son, who is a policeman, was questioned to tell him the whereabouts of his father. He was even threatened with being dismissed if he did not give information, the civic said.
“Juan Carlos Manuel’s son is subjected to various statements and they want to dismiss him because he is a police lieutenant. The same thing happens with Ramiro Subia’s brother and mother. They are going to knock on their doors, talk to them, intimidate them, “he explained.
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For his part, the police commander, Jhonny Aguilera, said that Juan Carlos Manuel’s son is on sick leave and denied that there is pressure. “We do not have to exert any kind of pressure against any person in Bolivia,” he added.
Graz denounced that there are 15 civic leaders – among whom there are members of the press and trade unions – who are pressured by intelligence agents.
“Among these people, there is the entire Comcipo leadership, members of the press and leaders such as union members, the president of this association is also harassed. The concern is added to their families, and the leaders wonder what will happen to their families if they are arrested, ”he emphasized.
The deputy of the Citizen Community Lissa Claros, representative of Potosí, explained that the intimidation of the relatives of Manuel and Subia is constant. In addition, he criticized the fact that they also persecute journalists, for which he asked the Ministry of Government for guarantees so that reporters can carry out their work.
“Comcipo is made up of various institutions, including press associations, which are harassed. They are told that if they do not reveal the whereabouts of Subia and Manuel they would be committing crimes and covering up two fugitives from justice. But they cannot affirm that these people know the whereabouts of the civic ”, he explained.
Arrest warrants?
Graz explained that he has the unofficial information that arrest warrants were issued for her and other leaders, among those who would appear on the list are the vice president of Comcipo, Nelson Gutiérrez, and five representatives of the press.
“We will find out when the search warrants exist, as you know Marco Pumari, Juan Carlos Manuel and Ramiro Subia did not notify or summon them. They were arrested directly and at times that did not correspond, “he said.
The leader warned that what happened in Potosí could happen with activists and citizens from other departments of the country.
Presumption of innocence?
The Vice Minister of Internal Affairs, Nelson Cox, on the case of Marco Pumari stated that the presumption of innocence cannot be alleged. This is because there are testimonies that point to him as the person responsible for the burning of TED Potosí.
“The specific case, in this case, is Pumari, the concrete is what is generated in information. What happens is that it seems that there is a presumption of innocence and he is innocent … “, declared in network Uno.
