July 21, 2023, 4:00 AM
July 21, 2023, 4:00 AM
Luis Fernando Camacho was elected governor by popular vote and is currently serving from prison. The authority is one of the opposition leaders who in the In the last seven months he felt “the strong hand of the State”.
His family denounced the violation of rights several times, but these gained more force after the dissemination of a moving photo of him looking emaciated and very thin. It was not the only claim and yesterday other complaints were raised for the “inhumane treatment” received by the opponents of the MAS since this political force returned to power as a result of the 2020 elections.
In Santa Cruz, Luis Fernando Camacho Parada, son of the governor, assured that “They are harming their father’s health” in the Chonchocoro prison. Likewise, his lawyer, Martín Camacho, affirmed that the Penitentiary Regime Directorate keeps him isolated. “The children, the wife and the entire family of Governor Luis Fernando Camacho appreciate the words of solidarity and concern, after seeing the image of my father in Chonchocoro. They are harming our father’s health, ”said his son.
He also expressed his rejection of the government’s position, “which is being held captive. Until today he never received adequate health care. He was kidnapped without considering that he suffers from an underlying disease”.
To this is added that visits are restricted, as Zvonko Matkovic said to EL DEBER.
“We are making enough efforts to look for the greater good, which is your state of health”, responded the director of the Penitentiary Regime, Juan Carlos Limpias, regarding the situation of Camacho. The Governor suffers from “hypogammaglobulinemia and Churg-Strauss syndrome”, two underlying diseases that compromise the autoimmune system and require specialized medical attention.
“Any complication, anything that Mr. Luis Fernando Camacho needs, will immediately be covered by the agreements that exist at the level of the Penitentiary Regime. with second, third and fourth level hospitals or other hospitals, detailed Mariana García, head of health of the Penitentiary Regime. However, Camacho himself pointed out that they prevent him from seeing his doctors.
“All the handy politicians in the country either get sick or faint or emaciate”, For his part, deputy Gualberto Arispe of the ‘evista’ wing of the MAS pointed out.
The health representative of the Penitentiary Regime said that all attempts to review the Governor’s health are documented in a medical record. He explained that they offered him physiotherapy, cardiology, gastroenterologyin addition to an ambulance equipped to attend intensive care”.
García assured that various medical specialists visited Camacho in Chonchocoro, but that he refused to be treated. “Unfortunately, he refused the visits, that is also in the medical history, with day, time and date so that you can have proof of the visit of these specialists”, he affirmed.
The family asked for two things: “a comprehensive evaluation, in a specialized center, by a medical board, with the participation of specialists appointed by our family”. Second, “like any human being, and as the law expresses, receive visits in an open manner without restrictions”.
Elsewhere in La Paz is the human rights activist, Amparo Carvajal, who has been vigilant in the open for 50 days, who was stripped of the headquarters of the Permanent Assembly of Human Rights of Bolivia (APDHB). by a group of people led by Édgar Salazar, linked to MAS. In fact, the leader accused Carvajal of being aligned with the opposition and ruled out that there are “political prisoners.”
“There is a flagrant and systematic violation by the State”questioned yesterday Manuel Morales from the National Committee for the Defense of Democracy (Conade).
He pointed out that “inhumane treatment” goes hand in hand with the “destruction of the social fabric” promoted by the MAS with the purpose of instilling fear in the country so that there is no criticism of the Government and other political visions are annulled.
“These are not isolated issues. These cruel and inhumane treatment of the people who are detained and the violent repression of demonstrations are part of a plan. Added to this are the political actions of the Public Ministry, which systematically accepts causes and rejects others.
So, It is a scheme of war and subordination of the judiciary to the interests of the Government“, he claimed. He recalled the case of Marco Aramayo, the director of the Indigenous Fund, who denounced corruption due to the irregular management of these resources by sectors related to the MAS. Aramayo died in 2022 in prison after facing 256 trials throughout the national territory. He has been behind bars since 2015 and there is evidence of torture and humiliation he suffered. The case has already been brought before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), according to his lawyer Héctor Castellón.
On the other hand, the Ombudsman established that the Yungas coca grower leader, César Apaza, “suffered cruel and degrading treatment,” in addition to injuries, by the Police when he was apprehended in September 2022. He recommended starting a disciplinary process, but the case did not advance. Apaza was sent to Chonchocoro and had to be sent to a public hospital for a while.
Last month he was returned to prison despite his delicate state of health. He faces 15 trials and the Prosecutor’s Office requested another four months in detention because the preliminary investigation has not concluded so far. He is now confined in San Pedro, but he is still delicate, according to his lawyer Evelyn Cossío.
For her part, former minister Eidy Roca had to wait more than a year for a constitutional ruling to order the suspension of her arraigo and in this way she can travel to Argentina to treat the Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) that afflicts her. She left the country on May 7 and returned. Now she must return to Argentina to continue with the treatment and obtain another permit. She is accused of the irregular purchase of Chinese respirators in 2020, but so far the Prosecutor’s Office was able to formalize the charges.
The former president and leader of the opposition Comunidad Ciudadana (CC), Carlos Mesa, urged the search for political unity “to recover justice” and in this way “defend human rights.” In addition, he questioned the way in which that the rights of Amparo Carvajal are being affected, whom a brigade from the Ministry of Health tried to treat yesterday on the terrace of the APDHB headquarterswhere he is because they prevent him from entering the offices.
“That they enter through the door and not through the stairs, they have to be respected because they are part of the State,” said Carvajal, referring to the visit by the Vice Minister of Health, Alejandra Hidalgo. The position of the president of the Assembly has to do with the way in which the offices were taken by Édgar Salazar and his followers.
“We have offered him the services of the internist, who has been present, and the laboratory personnel. There are four patients who are there; Three patients have been controlled and the corresponding control has been carried out. That is guaranteed, the patient Carvajal is the one who has mentioned that she does not require the corresponding attention, ”said the Vice Minister of Health, when leaving those facilities.
The “other patients” mentioned by Hidalgo are Salazar supporters who went on hunger strike to pressure Carvajal to drop the measure. “We do not have direct competition because it is a problem outside the State”, pointed out the Minister of Health, María René Castro, when ratifying the position of the Government.
“The attacks on Amparo Carvajal by the MAS government have been constant and show Arce’s decision to silence any voice that claims respect for democracy and Human Rights in Bolivia. I demand international organizations to join in the defense and protection of Carvajal,” Mesa said.
Salazar asked yesterday for a dialogue to resolve the conflict, but without giving in. “We will not go back after we have recovered our offices. We will not allow them to use the history and institutional framework of the Permanent Assembly for Human Rights for their political interests,” the leader told reporters in Plaza Murillo, the center of political power.
Fifteen days ago, the court issued a ruling in favor of Carvajal and prohibited Salazar from harassing the activist. The ruling has not been complied with and the activist hopes that it will be complied with the law.
Since last night, two ambulances have been waiting at the door. The tension increases, the activists who support her believe that at any moment they could remove Carvajal by force. Last night she met with the Spanish consul and the policemen removed the stairs and not even her lawyer could visit her.
