Bolivia: Update on the situation of dignified prisoner Henry Zegarrundo

On May 29, 2012, thirteen people were arrested in the framework of the investigation that was initiated by the FELCC (Special Force of the Fight Against Crime) around some attacks against symbols of Power. Most went free after a few hours or in the following days for having collaborated with the investigation. Of these 13 people, 3 remain under arrest, Henry being one of them.

Henry was arrested on the 29th while he was leaving from work; that same day they raided his parents’ house and the next day they raided his residence (after asking him for his address). On the 30th, the government minister presented the arrestees and the evidence obtained in the raided before the cameras of the media. The prepared evidence in that spectacle were ridiculous, going from patches, zines, flags, banners, and posters to a .22 caliber revolver (the property of another person who went free during the first days). The images from that public lynching were reproduced by the state television channel.

Henry has been imprisoned since that day in the San Pedro Prison in the city of La Paz, Bolivia. The charges pressed against him are “terrorism” and “attempted homicide,” with the possible sentence of 20 years of prison. They accuse him of “terrorism” making him responsible for a series of explosive/incendiary attacks against ATMs that were carried out in the city of La Paz since 2011 and claimed by the FAI/IRF. The “attempted homicide” is based on a smoke bomb attack that the Vice Minister of the Environment suffered in 2011. [communique, Spanish]

The cells of the FAI/IRF who carried out these attacks made it clear at the time that the State was hitting the wrong people [see communiques 1 and 2, English], but in spite of that they kept Henry in “preventive prison.” Henry himself has stated that he only knows the FAI/IRF by means of the communiques that they posted to different internet pages. [Henry’s two declarations, Spanish]

At present, Henry’s lawyer is intending to change the “preventive prison” to “house arrest,” but this is being blocked by the repeated suspensions of the hearings (most due to the absence of some prosecutor, the lack of the investigation notes, or of one of the parties). The fourth hearing was suspended due one of the arrestees requesting a change of judge, while the fifth was suspended by the defense itself due to a missing transcript.

There were seven hearings suspended until in the eighth, which was on Thursday November 29th, he was denied house arrest. Presently Henry’s defense seeks to set a new hearing to again request a change in the cautionary measures against him.

We will continue to update this information as it changes.