The International Criminal Court on Monday refused to investigate the former president for crimes against humanity Evo Morales and to the organizers of a mobilization to block roads. The Bolivian government asked the ICC in September 2020 to investigate the campaign, alleging “systematic and organized attacks on the Bolivian population” to prevent access to medical supplies and services that, it denounced, had caused the death of 40 coronavirus patients. because oxygen could not be provided to the hospitals and “anxiety to the rest of the population”.
ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan said he would not open a formal investigation as the alleged acts did not fall under the jurisdiction of the international tribunal based in The Hague. “Following a thorough and independent evaluation of the information available to my office, I have determined that the criteria set out in the Rome Statute for opening an investigation are not met,” Khan said in a statement.
The Rome Statute establishes the rules under which created the ICC in 2002 to judge the worst crimes committed in the world. States can formally refer suspected crimes to the ICC, which conducts a preliminary investigation before deciding whether to launch a full investigation. “I have come to the conclusion that the alleged conduct does not satisfy the contextual elements of crimes against humanity,” Khan added.
Bolivia’s referral accused Morales and the organizers of the road blockade of deliberately preventing, during their 12-day campaign, the arrival of urgent medical supplies to hospitals. The blockade began in September 2020 after the government postponed elections several times. Khan said some protesters “may have acted recklessly,” though protest leaders urged them to let the drugs through.
But even if the alleged acts during the lockdown had been proven, would not have been described as a coordinated “attack” against the civilian population and therefore as crimes against humanity, Khan said. The chief prosecutor explained that his conclusions “should not be considered as taking a position on any of the events or dynamics related to the alleged incidents or on the experience that the people of Bolivia had of those events.” (I)
Source: Eluniverso
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