Serious questions about the police operation in which Michael Dwyer was shot dead in Bolivia have been raised by the former public prosecutor who investigated the circumstances of the Irish man’s death.
In a wide-ranging interview from his exile in Brazil that casts grave doubts on the Bolivian authorities' version of events, Marcelo Soza has told The Irish Times that Mr Dwyer was unarmed when he was shot dead in Santa Cruz in the early hours of April 16th, 2009.
The Bolivian government has always claimed Mr Dwyer was in the country as part of a terrorist group that planned to assassinate President Evo Morales.
Investigation
However, Mr Soza – who was in charge of investigating the case for four years – has rejected these claims and has accused top officials in Bolivia of misrepresenting the nature of the police raid and then manipulating his own investigation into it until he was eventually forced to flee to Brazil in March.
He is one of many Bolivians to seek asylum in Brazil since Evo Morales became president in 2006, and has claimed he is willing to testify to European officials about his knowledge of the case.
Mr Dwyer’s mother, Caroline, who has vowed never to stop fighting to clear her son’s name, has flown to Brazil and is scheduled to have a meeting with Mr Soza today.
