Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
CAROLINE DWYER HAS spent the last six years trying to find out what happened to her son, Michael, who was shot dead in Bolivia.
International inquiry
In a moving and personal documentary due to be aired on RTÉ tonight, she travels to Bolivia, Brazil, Washington and Brussels as she searches for answers and looks for an international inquiry into why her son died so far from home.
In 2009, Michael Dwyer was shot dead by a secret police unit in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. The Tipperary man was accused of having ties to terrorist group activity against Bolivia and its President, Evo Morales.
His family categorically refutes these allegations.
Bolivia has insisted since the outset of the case that Dwyer was shot to death – along with two other men – in a gunfight with security forces at the Las Americas Hotel in Santa Cruz.
An autopsy by Irish State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy, however, concluded that such a scenario was impossible, and that Dwyer had been executed without firing a shot.
Photographic evidence of the crime scene also revealed there was no weapon at Dwyer’s side, contrary to the initial claims of Bolivian authorities.
Speaking after his death, Dwyer said her son “had no hidden agendas” and was not from a political family.
He would have had no interest or knowledge of Bolivian politics.
Tonight’s documentary explores what led a seemingly ordinary young man like Michael Dwyer to Bolivia. The film accompanies his mother and chronicles her journey.
The film is part detective story, as she follows the story back to the beginning and part meditation on motherhood.
A former prosecutor involved in the case, Marcela Soza tells Dwyer in the documentary that he found no evidence her son was involved in a plot to kill the Bolivian president.
“I found no evidence that Michael Dwyer had any criminal link to this case,” he added.
Death of a son – The Killing of Michael Dwyer is being aired tonight at 9.35pm on RTÉ One.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
If you have no idea what the cause is how can you rule out terrorism?
@Walt Jabsco: Because, as I’ve read from other sources, no traces of explosives have been found so far, and the pilot had refused to undergo the deicing procedure, as well as the aircraft maintenance company is under investigation for not following procedure in regards to oil change and air filter replacement.
@Larissa Caroline Nikolaus:
Terrorism might be unlikely, but until such time as the precise cause has been established (which it hasn’t yet) how can anything be ruled out?
@Larissa Caroline Nikolaus: “oil change and air filter replacemenr”? Are you having a laugh?
@Walt Jabsco: In that case you can’t rule out exploding mutant gerbils either.
@Dazz: There little ba***rds them gerbils .They get everywhere
@Ger Healy: Why, do you think airplanes magically maintain themselves, and don’t require oil, or air filters?
The Russian prosecutor’s office launched criminal proceedings for suspected violations of air traffic safety rules. They found reports that the airliner had been banned from operating international routes in 2015 and had resumed operation after it changed its policy in 2016. Russian Federal Service for Supervision of Transport (Rostransnadzor) stated that during their examination on the accident aircraft, the airliner had violated the procedure of the oil change in the gearboxes and the washing of the air starter filter.
from: “СК возбудил дело после крушения Ан-148 в Подмосковье”. РИА Новости (in Russian). 11 February 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
Does terrorism have to be mentioned now with every tragedy
@Shaun Gallagher: Unfortunately it’s indicative of the world we live in that it must be considered. To dismiss it and refuse to consider it as a possibility smacks of political interference and indicates it may be the real cause.
@Shaun Gallagher: Only in western countries….the phony war of terrorism.
Interesting name in the passanger manifest. Vyacheslav Ivanov.
@PutinBot 5000:
Doubt it’s the same one that died last october though…
@Walt Jabsco: Vyacheslav Ivanov-Rosatom-Clinton-Uranium.
@PutinBot 5000: Fake news. The Rosatom lad’s name is Vyacheslav Pershukov Alexandrovich (b. 1958).
https://rosatom.ru/en/about-us/governance/management-board/pershukov/
The guy on the plane, Ivanov, was born in ‘86.
You’ll need better sources than /r/TheDonald, brother.
@Malachi: Thanks bro. You’re like a Qi elf :-)
@PutinBot 5000: Lol
I do hope the de-icing was carried out correctly pre flight.
Unfortunately many Russian pilots have a terrible reputation for skipping this vital procedure.
https://youtu.be/5GIU94dg1ek
have your say