Correa will be called to testify on case Gabela

Ecuadornews:

Accordingto the last resolution, a day and time will be indicated in a timely manner sothat seven people will render a version and two will expand the ones they have explained.

Atleast nine people, including the former president of the Republic RafaelCorrea, will be called to render a version in the State’s Attorney General’sOffice, case of the death of Jorge Gabela, ex-commander general of theEcuadorian Air Force (FAE), in 2010. According to the latest fiscal impulse ofthe case (resolution), of the nine, seven will yield version for the first timeand two will expand the one already issued.

“Inrelation to the request to receive versions of the citizens Gabriela Espinoza Cabezas, Carlos Arroba Proaño, Rafael Correa Delgado, Silvia Salgado Andrade,Simon Omar, Wilson Mayorga Benalcázar, Pablo Romero Quezada; and expansion ofthe versions of the citizens Nadia Ruiz Maldonado and Paola Carrera Izurieta,the State Attorney General’s Office, as the head of the criminal preprocess investigation, according to the constitutional mandate, will duly signal dayand time for its reception, “says the document. In addition, in the samemomentum, it requests specific information from the Presidency of the Republic,from the Ministries of Defense, Interior and Justice.

Because Silvia Juma, who was in charge of the investigation, was appointed Imbabura prosecutor, Ángel Cujilema Daga, of the Directorate of the Truth and Human Rights Commission of the State Attorney General, took the case. It is he who isin charge of the practice of all the diligences arranged in this fiscalim pulse. Assembly approved the report This Tuesday, November 20, with 75 votesin favor, of 92 legislators present, the plenary session of the NationalAssembly, ratified and approved the majority report presented by the MultipartyOccasional Specialized Commission, created to collect and analyze thedocumentation related to the death of General Jorge Gabela. According to thelegislative resolution, the 72-page document and its annexes will be sent andnotified by the Secretariat of the Assembly, the State Attorney General’sOffice, the Comptroller’s Office and the Financial and Economic Analysis Unit(UAFE).

This is in consideration of the fact that, according to the provisions of article 76 of the Constitution, the competent authorities will be the ones who, in the exercise of their powers, will carry out the investigations to determine the corresponding administrative, civil or criminal responsibilities.

These will be declared, by means of a final decision or an enforceable judgment,respecting the guarantees of due process. The Legislature also decided not to dissociate itself from the case, so the members of the Multiparty Commission that signed the majority report will follow up on compliance with there commendations included in the document.

Acontribution to go to the truth For César Litardo, president of the Multiparty Commission, the opportunity to know the truth is open and for that, the agencythat was in charge of it has contributed to this process advance. According tohim, the Commission developed 23 sessions, received 32 appearances, formula tedmore than 80 requests for information from various entities and public bodies,which could establish that the assassination of General Jorge Gabela is linkedto organized crime.

The report mentions 68 people, including former president Rafael Correa; the former Minister of Justice and the Interior José Serrano; to former defense ministers Fernando Cordero and María Fernanda Espinosa.

Inaddition, to former justice ministers Ledy Zúñiga and Lenin Lara; to the former security ministers Homero Arellano and César Navas, among others. Litardo indicated that the report contains six conclusions, among them that there are inconsistencies regarding the reception, custody and content of the product III of the Consultancy on the Gabela case, a second related to the expert Roberto Meza, who claimed to have delivered said product, where determines that the mobile of the crime responded to organized crime.

Thirdly,that the functioning and operation of the Interinstitutional Committee was informal, negligent, to the point of not having minutes. Fourth, that the statements of those appearing do not agree with the documentation submitted and certified by the Ministry of Justice. As a fifth recommendation, possibly the contractual processes of the Dhruv helicopters presented problems.

Andfinally, he asks the UAFE to investigate the accounts of almost 70 official sand former officials who participated in the purchase, in the investigation ofthe murder, and in the Government Committee. From the bench of the legislative bloc related to former President Rafael Correa, legislators Marcela Aguiñaga,Gabriela Rivadeneira and Esteban Melo rejected the conclusions in which severalformer government officials are alluded to.

During the analysis of the topic, several legislators stressed that the report is a very important input to clarify the facts, worked with truthfulness and transparency, whose appearances and meetings were made publicly and in front of the press.

They stated that, in previous years, the negligence in the handling of important documents and the abuse of secrecy did not contribute to the investigation of the death of General Gabela.

Other sacknowledged that the integration of the Interinstitutional Committee by the previous Government was not pertinent, because the matter was judicialized and there was a ruling. Before knowing the report, the plenary received Patricia Ochoa, widow of Gabela, in a general commission. (I)

Source: https://www.eltelegrafo.com.ec/noticias/judicial/12/llamado-declarar-rafaelcorrea-casogabela