On Friday (12), the Ecuador court declared that the detention of former vice president Jorge Glas at the Mexican Embassy in Quito was illegal and arbitrary. However, Glas remained in prison because he had not yet served an eight-year sentence for two convictions. The court found that Glas’s rights were violated due to the Ecuadorian State not following proper procedure for operations in diplomatic missions. Despite this, the court denied the request for habeas corpus to annul his detention and have him handed over to Mexico for asylum.
Glas had been sentenced to six years in prison in 2017 for illicit association in the Odebrecht case and eight years in 2020 for receiving bribes in a case related to the irregular financing of Correa’s political movement. Recently, Glas sought “pre-release” to avoid returning to prison after serving most of his sentence, but this request was denied. He was arrested on a preventive arrest order in a separate case related to embezzlement of public funds.
Glas has been at the Mexican Embassy since December 17, 2023, seeking asylum and claiming to be a victim of political persecution. The Mexican government granted him asylum, which led to a diplomatic crisis with Ecuador. Despite the asylum, Ecuadorian police and military forces stormed the embassy and arrested Glas. He is currently held in La Roca prison, where he claims to have been tortured during his arrest.
The court hearing the habeas corpus request found no responsibility on the part of Ecuador’s president or Minister of Government and Interior and declared itself incompetent to decide on the asylum granted to Glas. The Ecuadorian government argued that the asylum was illegal as Glas faced common criminal charges. The situation remains complex, with Glas seeking asylum and Ecuador enforcing its legal system.
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