Nadia Beller arrives in Mexico with diplomatic asylum; feminicide trial continues
Nadia Beller departed for Mexico after receiving the Bolivian safe-conduct pass. Her ex-partner Fernando Cerimedo remains detained in Chonchocoro for attempted feminicide.
Beller leaves Bolivia with diplomatic asylum; criminal proceedings do not stop
Nadia Beller travelled to Mexico on Tuesday after obtaining the safe-conduct pass issued by the Bolivian Government, according to El Deber. The Foreign Ministry confirmed that there were no pending criminal cases that would prevent her departure from the country, whilst the Ombudsman's Office emphasised that the decision to seek diplomatic asylum was exclusively personal.
Beller had remained one week at the Embassy of Mexico in La Paz. The Mexican government granted her diplomatic asylum and presented the formal request for a safe-conduct pass on 4 November. Foreign Minister Héctor Huanca clarified that Bolivia responded to that request on Tuesday, 10 November through diplomatic channels, following consultation with the Ministry of Government.
"The Ministry of Government confirmed that there were no pending criminal cases that could obstruct the issuance of the safe-conduct pass," Huanca declared. The Foreign Minister added that Beller's pregnant state was taken into consideration and that a doctor certified her good state of health before the transfer.
The Foreign Ministry and Migration coordinated the movement from the Mexican diplomatic headquarters to El Alto airport. The commercial flight was organised and financed by the Mexican State. Huanca ruled out the existence of particular agreements with Beller and assured that the procedure respected international commitments and judicial independence.
The Ombudsman, Pedro Callisaya, highlighted the voluntary nature of the decision. "It was a personal decision that the citizen has adopted," he affirmed. Callisaya recalled that the institution maintained contact with Beller and knew of her complaints, first for lack of protection and then for what she described as excessive police surveillance, and announced that the case would continue to be monitored.
The Minister of Government, Marco Antonio Oviedo, had anticipated on Monday that the Executive would not object to the safe-conduct pass out of respect for international agreements. "This does not mean that we will stop investigating," he stated. Oviedo also ruled out that there had been harassment during Beller's transfer from Santa Cruz, where she resided, to the diplomatic headquarters in La Paz.
The presidential spokesman, José Luis Gálvez, held that all complaints must be investigated, including the attempted feminicide and the accusations that Beller made regarding the activities of Argentine consultant Fernando Cerimedo as adviser to President Rodrigo Paz. Beller had been declared a protected witness by the Public Prosecutor's Office, a status which she gave up before moving to the capital.
The case originated on 17 August, when Beller received several gunshots upon leaving a hotel in Santa Cruz de la Sierra. Cerimedo, her ex-partner, remains held in preventive detention at Chonchocoro prison in La Paz, charged with alleged attempted feminicide.
Lawyer Jerjes Justiniano reported that Beller left a notarial power of attorney to continue with judicial proceedings from Mexico. The defence of Cerimedo will request on 18 November the cessation of his preventive detention.
Source: El Deber