World Report 2011 - Human Rights Watch

WORLD REPORT 2011Sánchez de Lozada resigned and fled to the US after the events, known in Boliviaas “Black October.” The three men, as well as other ministers who were given asylumin Peru, have been declared fugitives from justice. In August 2010 the prosecutorfiled charges against three senior military officials, including a former commander-in-chiefof the armed forces, for destroying military documents, includinga log believed to have recorded details of the events and the personnel who participated.Military JurisdictionThe determination of Bolivia’s military courts to assert jurisdiction over humanrights abuses has been a major obstacle to accountability for many years. Themilitary has often refused to allow members of the armed forces to testify beforecivilian courts, instead insisting on trying the cases in military court, which invariablyends in acquittals. However, in an important precedent in September 2010,the army commander-in-chief—at President Morales’s insistence—ordered fourofficers accused of subjecting a conscript to water torture in September 2009 toappear before a civilian court.Political Violence and ImpunityImpunity continued to be a problem in 2010. Investigations into deaths andinjuries that occurred during violent protests in 2008 and 2009 over Bolivia’s newconstitution and demands for autonomy by five regional departments were ineffectiveand subject to long delays.In June 2010, after long delays due to conflicts over jurisdiction, a court in La Pazbegan to hear a case against 26 defendants in connection with the killing of atleast nine pro-Morales demonstrators in Porvenir, Pando department, inSeptember 2008. The accused included the former prefect of Pando department,Leopoldo Fernández, who was indicted in October 2009 on charges of homicide,terrorism, and conspiracy. He was still in preventive detention in September2010.The Attorney General’s Office also failed in 2010 to conduct a thorough andimpartial investigation into the circumstances in which three Europeans were212