THE HAGUE (Reuters) – The interim government of Bolivia has referred protests and blockades by opposition supporters this August ahead of the presidential vote in October to the International Criminal Court, the court’s prosecutor said in a statement Wednesday.
“The referring State requests the prosecutor to initiate an investigation into crimes against humanity allegedly committed on the territory of Bolivia,” the prosecution statement said.
It said the referral was linked to the August 2020 protests and blockades by opposition parties.
The office of the prosecutor gave no timeline for a decision on whether or not to open an investigation, the first step in building a future case. It did stress that a referral does not automatically lead to the opening of an investigation.
(Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
