Ecuadorian justice declares the capture of former vice president Jorge Glas illegal, but keeps him in prison

Associated press

Ecuador’s justice system said on Friday that the detention of former Vice President Jorge Glas was illegal, but ordered that he remain in prison to serve an outstanding sentence in corruption cases, a week after he was captured in a controversial police raid in Mexican embassy. in Quito.

Judge Mónica Heredia said the violation of Glas’ personal freedom was evident “because it was his “formally illegal and arbitrary detention” and noted that “it would correspond to the immediate freedom of the affected person”.

According to his explanation, the arrest did not respect the formalities of prior communication to the competent authorities of the decision to raid the Mexican diplomatic headquarters.

The police raid on the Mexican embassy sparked a crisis with the country’s government, which severed relations with Ecuador. The action was condemned and questioned by the international community.

Despite the judicial ruling, the court decided that Glas, convicted in two corruption cases and with an open investigation he will remain in prison. “It is not appropriate to grant the citizen freedom since there is another detention order against him other than the one that motivated the habeas corpus request. Glas, vice president during Rafael Correa’s government, was present electronically at the reading of the sentence.

The defense of the former vice president had presented that appeal to ask for his release. Habeas corpus aims to restore a person’s freedom when his detention is considered illegal or arbitrary.

Two cases of corruption

The former vice president still has to serve the full eight-year prison sentence imposed by National Court rulings in two corruption cases, but He is also under investigation in another case for embezzlement of public funds in the reconstruction works of two provinces after the 2016 earthquake.

Glas, who has taken refuge in the Mexican embassy since mid-December to avoid justice in the latter case, is being held in a maximum security prison in the port city of Guayaquil, where he said he is on hunger strike.

From Thursday night until almost dawn on Friday, a first hearing was held to resolve the habeas corpus appeal, in which reports, testimonies and accusations were presented, both by Glas’ defense and by the people involved in the detention.

The former official, via computer from prison, told how he was detained and He claimed that the police officers manhandled him and kicked and kneed him.

Glas has insisted he is a victim of political persecution and has denied the crimes for which he was convicted and for which he is under investigation.

The former vice president’s defense argued that the arrest was “illegal” because it did not respect international norms on the inviolability of diplomatic offices and the asylum granted a few hours earlier by the Mexican government.

The legal secretary of the presidency, Mishele Mancheno, denied the attacks reported by Glas and justified the capture by claiming that “irregular asylum does not prevent the execution of an arrest order.” He insisted that the former vice president has convictions for common crimes, meaning “there has been no action outside the legal system.”

Diplomatic tension

Bilateral tensions with Mexico began with statements by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who questioned the presidential elections of which President Daniel Noboa was the winner and the influence that the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio had on the results of a few days ago. before the first round.

The police raid on the Mexican embassy resulted in a breakdown in bilateral relations, a global rebuke to Ecuador and condemnation from the Organization of American States (OAS).

Mexico sued Ecuador at the International Court of Justice on Thursday, asking the United Nations to suspend it. There was no immediate reaction from Ecuador.

Source: AP