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🇧🇴 Bolivia /Crime & Justice

Bolivian police captain detained after being accused of attempted femicide

From El Deber · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources In the courts
  • Prosecutors in Cochabamba formally accused police captain Christian U. of attempted femicide and ordered his detention after changing the case classification from psychological violence.
  • The prosecution alleges that he breached protective measures and threatened his partner with a firearm, while his lawyer denies the accusations.
  • The captain is awaiting a hearing on precautionary measures, as relatives and the Mujeres de Fuego collective demand justice and protection for the alleged victim.

The legal situation of Bolivian police captain Christian U. worsened on Friday after prosecutors reclassified an investigation from psychological violence to attempted femicide and ordered his detention.

The captain was detained at about 8:30 a.m. and remains in police cells pending a hearing on precautionary measures. Prosecutors will ask for preventive detention in a prison. Cochabamba departmental prosecutor Osvaldo Tejerina said the decision followed an assessment of witness statements and other material gathered in the investigation, including the intervention of the alleged victim’s father and information circulated publicly.

Under the application of international law and various international agreements, since we are at a stage of provisional classification, the case is reclassified because we cannot ignore the images circulating in the media

· Osvaldo TejerinaThe Cochabamba prosecutor explained why the investigation was reclassified as attempted femicide.

The prosecution provisionally alleges that the officer breached protective measures and threatened the woman with a firearm. “Under the application of international law and various international agreements, since we are at a stage of provisional classification, the case is reclassified because we cannot ignore the images circulating in the media,” Tejerina said.

The captain never assaulted her, he never pointed his service weapon at her

· Adolfo PaniaguaThe defense lawyer denied the allegations against the police captain.

Adolfo Paniagua, one of the captain’s lawyers, rejected the accusations. “The captain never assaulted her, he never pointed his service weapon at her,” he said. Paniagua also claimed the complaint was being used to pressure his client into handing over an apartment, which he said did not belong to the captain.

The lawyer said the officer had no convictions for violence, while acknowledging four complaints against him for domestic violence. “My client is not guilty of violence, no act has ever been proven against him, and he has never been sentenced,” Paniagua said. Members of Mujeres de Fuego and relatives of the complainant went to the Special Force to Fight Violence to demand justice and protective measures. The group also alleged that people linked to the accused were constantly harassing the woman on social media.

My client is not guilty of violence, no act has ever been proven against him, and he has never been sentenced

· Adolfo PaniaguaPaniagua argued that the captain had not been convicted of violence, while acknowledging four domestic violence complaints.
About this summary

Originally published by El Deber in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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