By express order of the Attorney General, Jorge Chavarría, the Prosecutor’s Office of Heredia will open a criminal case against forensic doctors and other personnel of the Forensic Pathology section who did not resume service in the judicial morgue due to the general strike that began last week.
The decision is linked to possible crimes of disobedience to authority and non-fulfillment of duties, for having incurred in disregarding the order of the Constitutional Chamber and its headquarters, the Judicial Investigation (OIJ) and the head of the Department of Forensic Medicine.
On Sunday, the Constitutional Court ordered autopsies and delivery of bodies to continue. However, on Monday these orders were disobeyed.
As confirmed by Walter Espinoza, director of the OIJ, on Monday morning there were 35 corpses awaiting autopsy.
Likewise, Chavarría confirmed that they maintain close coordination with the OIJ to find a solution to the issue. At the moment, there are three options:
• Performing autopsies in hospitals in the country.
• Hiring doctors to perform autopsies.
• Ensuring that the legal medicine personnel of the Judicial Branch pay attention to the interest of the suffering victims and perform the autopsies.