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🇵🇾 Paraguay /Crime & Justice

Hugo Javier is destitute, lawyer says while seeking prison security footage

From ABC Color · () Spanish

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

At a glance

News Named sources Under investigation
  • Former Central Governor Hugo Javier González remains in serious condition with a guarded prognosis after being found unconscious in his prison cell.
  • His lawyer said the incident may have resulted from an acute stroke or a fall, but he has not ruled out an attack and wants security-camera footage reviewed.
  • González is serving a 10-year sentence for the alleged diversion of public funds during the COVID-19 emergency while he was governor.

Former Central Governor Hugo Javier González was found unconscious in his prison cell and taken to intensive care in serious condition after what doctors suspect was an acute stroke. His lawyer, Bernardo Villalba, said González is now in a state of total destitution, while investigators await medical reports and prison records.

González was initially treated at Barrio Obrero Hospital before being transferred to Itauguá National Hospital. The report says he was intubated and had a guarded prognosis after the incident at the Industrial Pavilion La Esperanza, part of the former Tacumbú National Penitentiary, now called the National Detention Center.

Villalba said the episode could have been a stroke or an accident in which González slipped and fell. He said he did not believe an attack was the most likely explanation, based on his experience as a former judge and a lawyer for 35 years. “I do not believe it was an attack,” he said. “If it was an attack, why not kill him? Why leave him alive so he could tell what happened?”

I do not believe it was an attack. I have to say that based on my experience. I was a judge and I have been a lawyer for 35 years.

· Bernardo VillalbaGonzález’s lawyer explained why he initially doubted that his client had been attacked.

The lawyer nevertheless said he could not rule out an assault. He pointed to the prison environment and said someone might have believed González was hiding money and tried to obtain information from him. He asked for the facility’s closed-circuit footage to be examined, noting that cameras cover the prison except for bathroom areas. Villalba also said he did not know whether González’s political past could have played a role.

González is serving a 10-year prison sentence over the multimillion-dollar diversion of public funds during the COVID-19 health emergency, when he was governor of Central. The lawyer said medical and prison reports were needed before drawing conclusions about what happened.

If it was an attack, why not kill him? Why leave him alive so he could tell what happened?

· Bernardo VillalbaThe lawyer questioned the logic of an alleged attack that left González alive.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Color 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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