Family of man shot in Bolivia wait on result of post mortem
THE remains of a young Irishman shot dead by Bolivian security forces were finally released to his grieving family last night.
Michael Dwyer's body was returned to his family following a post-mortem examination by State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy.
The post mortem is expected to conclude that Mr Dwyer died as a result of injuries inflicted by gunshot wounds to his chest.
The 24-year-old was killed by an elite police force in Bolivia who claimed to have uncovered a plot to assassinate president Evo Morales.
The post mortem, which began at 12 noon yesterday, took a number of hours to complete.
A spokesperson for the family said they had not yet received the results.
The funeral Mass for the Tipperary man is expected to take place in Terryglass tomorrow. The times have not yet been finalised.
Journalists at a press conference in La Paz were shown a video reportedly of Michael Dwyer discussing how to assassinate Bolivian president Evo Morales.
State prosecutor Marcelo Sosa told reporters the footage shows the Irishman with Eduardo Rózsa Flores and Arpad Magyaros discussing a bomb attack against Mr Morales on Lake Titicaca.
Mr Sosa, who is tasked with investigating the killings of the men, said the three-minute mobile phone video shows the men talking about blowing up a boat with Bolivian ministers on board.
Local reports said the video was supplied by a man linked to Eduardo Rózsa Flores.
However, concerns have been expressed about the veracity of the footage. Bolivian reporters complained of a hastily arranged press conference late on Saturday night, which did not afford them enough time to investigate the video.
The footage is also said to be grainy with unclear audio which Mr Sosa said had been examined by technical experts.
Mr Sosa did not say in which language the conversation took place in the video. It is known that Michael Dwyer spoke very little Spanish.
Michael Dwyer and the two other men were killed by security forces in what authorities claimed was a "shootout" in a hotel in Santa Cruz on April 16.
However, photographs emerged of the trio lying dead in their underwear. It appeared as if security forces had entered the Hotel Las Americas while the men were sleeping and shot them. Some reports indicated that Bolivian-Hungarian Eduardo Rózsa Flores may have fired shots in his defence.
Meanwhile, government ministers in Bolivia are opposing any international involvement in the probe into the three killings.
Bolivia's deputy minister for social movements, Sacha Llorenti, has also accused a Hungarian journalist of allegedly covering up a plan to destabilise the country.
Interview
In an interview last September, Eduardo Rózsa Flores told Hungarian reporter Andras Kepes that he would travel to the South American country to support a separatist movement in Santa Cruz province, where there is opposition to socialist leader Mr Morales.
The interview was broadcast on television only after Rózsa Flores was shot dead by police.
Mr Llorenti has threatened to sue the Hungarian journalist for keeping a "complicit silence" by not disclosing the interview.
- EIMEAR NI BHRAONAIN
