Bolivian ex-president ends two-week hunger strike

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            La Paz, :Bolivia’s former Interim President Jeanine Anez said Wednesday she had ended a two-week hunger strike, as she awaits trial in a La Paz prison for allegedly encouraging a coup against former leader Evo Morales.

                  “I end my hunger strike… at the request of my children, my family, my lawyers, the institutions, former presidents, and the Catholic church,” she said on Twitter.

                  Anez, 54, served as interim president for a year until November 2020, before being replaced by current leader Luis Arce, Morales’ former finance minister.

                  She was then arrested in March the following year, accused of unconstitutionally assuming the presidency following the resignation of Morales, who fled into exile following 14 years in power.

                  A court ruled this week she would spend at least three more months in jail as she awaits a trial that could last at least three years.

                  Earlier this month, a group of 21 former Latin American presidents asked the United Nations to visit Anez and investigate potential “abuses of power” in her treatment.

                  Hailed as a “political prisoner” by her supporters, her health had suffered during her hunger strike, with a Bolivian judge Friday refusing to transfer her to a local hospital.