Sorry it has taken me so long to post anything on this blog about Lestat.
Of course everyone knows now about his death in Bolivian prison. It has been five months now. It seems like yesterday to me. I will, in the coming weeks, post the story of how and why he died. It is tremendously difficult for me to find the right words. I am devastated. The pain is still fresh. Maybe it will always be. Everyone tells me time will make things better. I don't think I will ever feel better. Maybe in time I will feel different, not feel such anguish. Maybe with time I will be able the write his story with out tears clouding my vision and hitting the keyboard. Maybe I will be able to go into his room without having a melt down. Maybe I will be able to go to the book store without shaking at seeing the books he so loved. Time. We shall see.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Untitled poem by Lestat
I cannot live for to live is to die,
I cannot die for to die is to live,
On this one way trip to the afterlife
Lestat Montevideo
1981-2008
He doesn't have to feel this way now
We chase misprinted lies
We face the path of time
And yet I fight
And yet I fight
This battle all alone
No one to cry to
No place to call home
My gift of self is raped
My privacy is raked
And yet I find
And yet I find
Repeating in my head
If I cant be my own
Id feel better dead
This song reminds me of Lestat
His struggle is over.
He can start over anew
I miss him so very much
...
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
US Citizen Convicted in Bolivia Deserved a Fair Trial
US Citizen Convicted in Bolivia Deserved a Fair Trial
Lestat Claudius de Orleans y Montevideo, has just been convicted of blowing up two hotels in La Paz, Bolivia, crimes he says he did not commit.
The evidence against him consisted of several confused witnesses, including his common law wife and co-defendant Alda Riberrio who was somehow convinced to turn state's evidence in the hope of more lenient treatment of herself.
The only physical evidence that exists called into question the Bolivian government's theory of the case. The trial itself was grossly unfair.
Neither Lestat nor his family knows the public defender assigned to represent him. Lestat was not permitted to represent himself or to file pro se motions from prison.
More recently, he has said that he was threatened with commitment proceedings if he would not plead guilty to the criminal charge. If he did not plead guilty, he would be declared incompetent to make his own legal decisions. That's some way to treat a person who is supposedly mentally incompetent.
The political nature of this trial was borne out by the public statements of the President of Bolivia, Evo Morales. He has proclaimed Lestat's guilt to the news media on several occasions and also interfered with the jury selection process.
A special representative of the President was sent to the court to oversee the jury selection process, and Lestat's public defender was not allowed to question any of the jurors. They were hand-picked by the Bolivian government.
"If this court has proven anything, it's that a fair trial is not possible in Bolivia," said Paul Wolf, a human rights lawyer in Washington, D.C. who has advised Lestat's mother throughout the grueling two years of pretrial detention.
For six full months before his trial, Lestat was kept in a six by six foot"hole" in the dark, and not allowed to take a shower. He was also severely beaten in October for refusing to attend a court proceeding.
He has never threatened to stab any lawyer, as the media has falsely reported.
Lestat is chained to his seat in the courtroom, but has not said a word or done anything to protest what the Bolivian government is doing to him.
Lestat was arrested on the night of the bombings. After hours of interrogation, a confession was beaten out of him.
The next day, Evo Morales announced to the country that Lestat was guilty. Since then, various Bolivian officials, including the Minister of the Interior, have gone so far as to accuse him of being a CIA agent. This is patently absurd. The Bolivian government has even used the case to enact new laws requiring US citizens entering Bolivia to obtain visas, even though Lestat did not enter Bolivia with a US passport, and even though he applied for political asylum in Bolivia after he arrived.
Lestat was not hiding from anyone, was not working for the US government in any way, and had no reason to blow up Bolivian hotels. Lestat is not connected to the Sendero Luminoso or to Al Qaida.
The political nature of the trial is clear from the exaggerated statements of various Bolivian officials. There are a number of other things that the media are reporting that are simply not true.
Lestat is not a "violent psychopath" with a long criminal history. As an adolescent, he was convicted of taking the family car without permission in a family dispute that got out of hand. He then apparently spit at a judge and was charged with assaulting a federal officer.
In a third incident, charges were brought against him, then dropped, when someone tried to blow up an ATM machine in Argentina. Lestat was never put on trial for that.
That was his entire criminal record - taking the family car and then spitting at a judge - before these bombings occurred.
Much has been written on Internet blogs about his Wiccan beliefs, but this is also not evidence that he's a violent killer.
Lestat had a license from the Bolivian government to sell dynamite, and made a living selling dynamite to miners. However, forensic evidence in the case did not detect the presence of nitrates in the explosives residue, as would be present if dynamite we used.
The Bolivian police first believed, and told the press, that a propane tank had exploded in one of the hotels, due to the twisted fragments of the propane tank found at the site. Somehow, this was no mentioned at trial.
Lestat's family regrets the deaths of the two innocent people who perished in the blasts, the wounds suffered by others in the hotels, and the property damage caused. However, justice would be better served by trying to determine who was responsible and then affording the defendant a fair trial.
The Bolivian government has made minimal efforts to do either.
Lestat Claudius de Orleans y Montevideo, has just been convicted of blowing up two hotels in La Paz, Bolivia, crimes he says he did not commit.
The evidence against him consisted of several confused witnesses, including his common law wife and co-defendant Alda Riberrio who was somehow convinced to turn state's evidence in the hope of more lenient treatment of herself.
The only physical evidence that exists called into question the Bolivian government's theory of the case. The trial itself was grossly unfair.
Neither Lestat nor his family knows the public defender assigned to represent him. Lestat was not permitted to represent himself or to file pro se motions from prison.
More recently, he has said that he was threatened with commitment proceedings if he would not plead guilty to the criminal charge. If he did not plead guilty, he would be declared incompetent to make his own legal decisions. That's some way to treat a person who is supposedly mentally incompetent.
The political nature of this trial was borne out by the public statements of the President of Bolivia, Evo Morales. He has proclaimed Lestat's guilt to the news media on several occasions and also interfered with the jury selection process.
A special representative of the President was sent to the court to oversee the jury selection process, and Lestat's public defender was not allowed to question any of the jurors. They were hand-picked by the Bolivian government.
"If this court has proven anything, it's that a fair trial is not possible in Bolivia," said Paul Wolf, a human rights lawyer in Washington, D.C. who has advised Lestat's mother throughout the grueling two years of pretrial detention.
For six full months before his trial, Lestat was kept in a six by six foot"hole" in the dark, and not allowed to take a shower. He was also severely beaten in October for refusing to attend a court proceeding.
He has never threatened to stab any lawyer, as the media has falsely reported.
Lestat is chained to his seat in the courtroom, but has not said a word or done anything to protest what the Bolivian government is doing to him.
Lestat was arrested on the night of the bombings. After hours of interrogation, a confession was beaten out of him.
The next day, Evo Morales announced to the country that Lestat was guilty. Since then, various Bolivian officials, including the Minister of the Interior, have gone so far as to accuse him of being a CIA agent. This is patently absurd. The Bolivian government has even used the case to enact new laws requiring US citizens entering Bolivia to obtain visas, even though Lestat did not enter Bolivia with a US passport, and even though he applied for political asylum in Bolivia after he arrived.
Lestat was not hiding from anyone, was not working for the US government in any way, and had no reason to blow up Bolivian hotels. Lestat is not connected to the Sendero Luminoso or to Al Qaida.
The political nature of the trial is clear from the exaggerated statements of various Bolivian officials. There are a number of other things that the media are reporting that are simply not true.
Lestat is not a "violent psychopath" with a long criminal history. As an adolescent, he was convicted of taking the family car without permission in a family dispute that got out of hand. He then apparently spit at a judge and was charged with assaulting a federal officer.
In a third incident, charges were brought against him, then dropped, when someone tried to blow up an ATM machine in Argentina. Lestat was never put on trial for that.
That was his entire criminal record - taking the family car and then spitting at a judge - before these bombings occurred.
Much has been written on Internet blogs about his Wiccan beliefs, but this is also not evidence that he's a violent killer.
Lestat had a license from the Bolivian government to sell dynamite, and made a living selling dynamite to miners. However, forensic evidence in the case did not detect the presence of nitrates in the explosives residue, as would be present if dynamite we used.
The Bolivian police first believed, and told the press, that a propane tank had exploded in one of the hotels, due to the twisted fragments of the propane tank found at the site. Somehow, this was no mentioned at trial.
Lestat's family regrets the deaths of the two innocent people who perished in the blasts, the wounds suffered by others in the hotels, and the property damage caused. However, justice would be better served by trying to determine who was responsible and then affording the defendant a fair trial.
The Bolivian government has made minimal efforts to do either.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Protection of Prisoners held Abroad
We all think that as Americans we have some protection provided to us by our government when we travel the world. Think again.
In the case of Lestat Montevideo, I believe that the US Embassy in Bolivia has gone as far as providing assistance to the prosecution of the case. That story I will save for another day.
When he was arrested almost two years ago, the Consulate did go out and visit him and also provide, food and water(which is paid for by the family, or by loans given to the prisoner by the government). They came every few months to do this.
When Mr Montevideo started having doubts about their motives, he asked that they not visit with him, or provide food. Because of this, they have cut off all contact. Even at the request of the family they have refused to check on his well being.
I believe that they should still be trying to protect his right to a standard of living. He should not be beaten, he should be provided with basic necessities of living, toilet, shower, food, water. He should have heat and not be forced to live with rats. He should be allow to have light and a mattress and blankets.
These are all things listed on the United Nations standard of minimum rules of the treatment of prisoners.
When there is reason to believe that these basic rights have been violated, the Consulate should arrange a visit to the prison to investigate the abuse.
In this case they may only call the prison and ask the very people that have been abusing Lestat if the accusation is true. You may have already guessed what their answer is!
Knowing that no investigation will take place and no action will ever happen on behalf of the inmate, the abuse continues, and in fact escalates.
So my question is.. Do we as Americans, have the rights afforded to us not only by the UN but also by the government under which we live?( See state department web site).
Should conditions be placed on the level of care the US gives us based upon who we are or what we have been accused of, or the political climate between the US and the country of incarceration?
Should one be allowed to reject certain aspects of help while reserving the right to ask for other forms of assistance?
In my experience with this case, the government seems to pick and choose what assistance they will offer with no real regard for the human being that is facing the horrors of existing in a Bolivian prison. Can we do anything about it? Probably not.
So maybe think twice when traveling abroad, you may not have as much protection as you think.
In the case of Lestat Montevideo, I believe that the US Embassy in Bolivia has gone as far as providing assistance to the prosecution of the case. That story I will save for another day.
When he was arrested almost two years ago, the Consulate did go out and visit him and also provide, food and water(which is paid for by the family, or by loans given to the prisoner by the government). They came every few months to do this.
When Mr Montevideo started having doubts about their motives, he asked that they not visit with him, or provide food. Because of this, they have cut off all contact. Even at the request of the family they have refused to check on his well being.
I believe that they should still be trying to protect his right to a standard of living. He should not be beaten, he should be provided with basic necessities of living, toilet, shower, food, water. He should have heat and not be forced to live with rats. He should be allow to have light and a mattress and blankets.
These are all things listed on the United Nations standard of minimum rules of the treatment of prisoners.
When there is reason to believe that these basic rights have been violated, the Consulate should arrange a visit to the prison to investigate the abuse.
In this case they may only call the prison and ask the very people that have been abusing Lestat if the accusation is true. You may have already guessed what their answer is!
Knowing that no investigation will take place and no action will ever happen on behalf of the inmate, the abuse continues, and in fact escalates.
So my question is.. Do we as Americans, have the rights afforded to us not only by the UN but also by the government under which we live?( See state department web site).
Should conditions be placed on the level of care the US gives us based upon who we are or what we have been accused of, or the political climate between the US and the country of incarceration?
Should one be allowed to reject certain aspects of help while reserving the right to ask for other forms of assistance?
In my experience with this case, the government seems to pick and choose what assistance they will offer with no real regard for the human being that is facing the horrors of existing in a Bolivian prison. Can we do anything about it? Probably not.
So maybe think twice when traveling abroad, you may not have as much protection as you think.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Prisoner Held Abroad Faces Abuse
Lestat Montevideo is an American man being held in a Bolivian prison. He is accused of a hotel bombing in 2006.
This blog is not intended to argue his guilt/innocence. Only to help the man survive the conditions he must face in the Bolivian prison system, and ensure he is given a fair trial.
Conditions at Chochocoro prison are primitive at best. He has been held in a small dark cell for the last 6 months, rat infested, no heat, light, mattress, blankets (it is very cold in the Altiplano), the only food he gets is what can be delivered from the out side, the water supply is contaminated.
He is beaten on a regular basis and denied medical care.
His trial has been, to this point, a joke. The acting parties don't even try to pretend they are giving him a fair trial.
Attorneys and other court officials have violated every policy and rule there is in the Bolivian justice system. Some are saying the acts of the officials are criminal. I believe there needs to be an investigation into this matter.
I am sure there are people who believe he deserves all he gets. I believe everyone, regardless of what they have been accused of deserve to be treated humanely.
There are UN international standards of treatment and living that should be upheld.
So far no agency, including the American consulate in Bolivia has shown an interest in his mistreatment.
I am amazed that the man has lived this long considering what he has gone through.
It is my hope that something more can be done to ease the burden he must bare.
This blog is not intended to argue his guilt/innocence. Only to help the man survive the conditions he must face in the Bolivian prison system, and ensure he is given a fair trial.
Conditions at Chochocoro prison are primitive at best. He has been held in a small dark cell for the last 6 months, rat infested, no heat, light, mattress, blankets (it is very cold in the Altiplano), the only food he gets is what can be delivered from the out side, the water supply is contaminated.
He is beaten on a regular basis and denied medical care.
His trial has been, to this point, a joke. The acting parties don't even try to pretend they are giving him a fair trial.
Attorneys and other court officials have violated every policy and rule there is in the Bolivian justice system. Some are saying the acts of the officials are criminal. I believe there needs to be an investigation into this matter.
I am sure there are people who believe he deserves all he gets. I believe everyone, regardless of what they have been accused of deserve to be treated humanely.
There are UN international standards of treatment and living that should be upheld.
So far no agency, including the American consulate in Bolivia has shown an interest in his mistreatment.
I am amazed that the man has lived this long considering what he has gone through.
It is my hope that something more can be done to ease the burden he must bare.
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