Luis Escobar / La Paz
Judge Rafael Alcón -who gave house arrest in 2019 to Richard Choque, murderer and serial rapist- was apprehended yesterday morning. The Minister of Justice, Iván Lima, said that this judicial authority received protection from his brother: the former counselor of the Magistracy Gonzalo Alcón.
“He had protection from the Council of the Judiciary that also appointed him and he was never evaluated on his performance, an evaluation of the serious irregularities that were being carried out was never made,” Lima said yesterday and described this fact as “abnormal.”
“It is inadmissible that a prevarication of this magnitude would have passed through the Judicial Council, which has a structure that receives millions of Bolivians from taxes. (…) Clearly there is a structural impunity that we are not going to allow,” said the minister.
Lima asked the Judicial Council for Alcón’s dismissal. “This judge entered Luribay, he had a poor performance with permanent complaints, sanctions and disciplinary processes that never materialized due to a fact that we must also denounce,” he said.
Judge Rafael Alcón is the brother of Gonzalo Alcón, who was dismissed in July 2021 from the position of counselor because a constitutional chamber considered that he incurred in incompatibility by having relatives working as judges. That decision was ratified by the Constitutional Court in ruling 681/2021.
Photo: APG
In the case of the murderer’s release, Lima said that Judge Alcón committed -at least- four irregularities. The Government announced that other officials involved in the case will be investigated.
“We announce to the country that the criminal execution judge (Rafael Alcón) was apprehended and is accused of malfeasance for having released the femicide Richard Choque. This fact -which shocked the country- will not go unpunished”, said the Minister of Justice.
Choque kidnapped and murdered a young woman in 2013. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison without the right to pardon. In December 2019, Alcón signed the resolution that gives the femicide house arrest for 18 months.
The judge justified the measure because the defendant had gastritis and diabetes, and also reported good behavior in the San Pedro prison. He indicated that the Prosecutor’s Office and the family of the young woman murdered in 2013 did not object.
As the first irregularity that Judge Alcón committed, Lima explained that it was a conviction “without pardon” and “there was no possibility that Choque could leave the San Pedro or Chonchocoro prison for a single day, where he was taken to serve his sentence. ”. For this reason, the judge is accused of prevarication.
The second irregularity refers to the medical condition. “He alleged that (the femicide) was in a situation of terminal illness and this possibility is inadmissible because none of the diseases was in the terminal stage,” explained Lima.
The third irregularity refers to the process times. The murderer submitted his request for house arrest on December 24, 2019 and the release order was issued on the 27th, when the process lasts at least one month.
As a fourth irregularity, the defense of the first victim reported that they were not notified, although the judge’s decision indicates otherwise. Lawyer John Tapia Soliz explained that he found out about the case through the media. “As a defense, we do not know the reasons why he was released from jail.”
The prosecutor of the department of La Paz, Wiliam Alave, said that the work of the Public Ministry concluded when the sentence was obtained. “(…) The fulfillment of a sentence and monitoring of detention periods correspond to the judge of criminal execution and prison regime,” he explained.
Lima added that, without defending the Public Ministry, “it is not known if the Prosecutor’s Office, the complainant or relatives were notified.”
The president of the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ), Ricardo Torres Echalar, filed a complaint against Alcón. “We are shocked, worried and even fed up with what is happening in the Judicial Branch (…) The TSJ is going to file a complaint against Judge Alcón for the crimes of malfeasance, breach of duties and resolutions contrary to the Constitution and the laws” , He said.
Lima added that “all” the people who have to do with the murder file that was registered in 2013 and the 30-year prison sentence against Richard Choque in 2015 “will be investigated.” “It is not admissible that between 2015 and 2022 they have not responded to the victims of the case,” said the authority.
He indicated that the doctor who issued the certificates “will be brought to justice.” He explained that he will investigate why the social worker did not carry out the controls every three months and why the file was not sent to the natural judge who was in El Alto.
