BOLIVIA COURT EASES RESTRICTIONS- On opposition figures linked to 2019 political turmoil

A Bolivian court has ordered the lifting of preventive prison for former Santa Cruz governor Luis Fernando Camacho and former civic leader of Potosi, Marco Pumari, both accused of involvement in the 2019 political turmoil that led to former President Evo Morales’ resignation, their lawyers and the Supreme Court confirmed.

Camacho and Pumari were accused of leading post-election protests in 2019, when they were presidents of the civic committees in their regions.

Camacho was granted house arrest while Pumari “will defend himself in freedom,” his lawyer Diego Gutierrez told media outside the courthouse.

Pumari had been imprisoned since 2021, and could be released on Wednesday 

Camacho, who appeared under heavy police escort at the Departmental Court of Justice in La Paz, was instructed to remain under house arrest with permission to work, pay a $14,300 bond, and the instruction to report to prosecutors twice a month.

Outside the courthouse, supporters waved Bolivian flags and chanted slogans in his favour. Bolivia has been split over whether a coup occurred when then-President Morales resigned in 2019.