The Government denounced five judges criminally and administratively. They are singled out for rulings related to organized crime and corruption.
Diego Ordóñez, Secretary of Security, leaves the Prosecutor’s Office building after filing a complaint against five judges, on February 8, 2023.
Without specifying the crime that the five judges allegedly committed, Diego Ordóñez, Secretary of Public and State Security, was in charge of formalizing what President Guillermo Lasso had announced on a national broadcast.
On the night of February 7, 2023, Lasso presented the names and photos of five magistrates to the entire country, whom he called corrupt. He singled them out for issuing sentences that benefit criminals and attack state security.
Ordóñez took the same message to the Prosecutor’s Office. He even said that the five judges announced by Lasso were not the only ones. And he assured that the formal complaint included other “corrupt” judicial servants.
The document was not made public, but the official reported that it contained the facts. That is, the cases and controversial sentences handed down by judges.
Paulina Araujo, a criminal lawyer, was surprised by the way in which the complaint was presented. The expert hoped that, after the President’s strong announcement on national television, an investigation would be delivered to the Prosecutor’s Office containing the alleged crimes committed.
However, in this scenario, Araujo lists at least two crimes for which the accused judges could be prosecuted:
- If they demanded money in exchange for issuing a sentence: concussion.
- If they received money to make a decision: bribery.
In addition, he explained that, if these magistrates were pressured to give these rulings, the Prosecutor’s Office could investigate extortion.
The cases
These are the cases for which the accused judges are singled out. The rulings in these processes benefited criminals linked to drug trafficking, homicides and robbery. Also political leaders linked to correísmo and the Bucaram.
Political interference in justice?
Lasso ‘s national chain, exposing judges that it considers corrupt, without there being a sentence or a process involved, has raised doubts about the role of the Executive in relation to judicial independence.
Araujo, for example, criticizes that they have been assured that they are corrupt and their faces have been shown without an investigation involved. He recalled that the cases enter the Prosecutor’s Office as a preliminary investigation, so they are reserved . Although that principle has already been broken.
Iván Saquicela, president of the National Court of Justice (CNJ), said that the Council of the Judiciary must investigate these alleged acts of corruption and, if found, dismiss these officials.
But, he asked that it not be generalized, since the majority of judges are honest. “Everything has to be within the framework of due process,” said the judicial official.
For his part, Álvaro Román, temporary president of the Judiciary, indicated that they will investigate the five judges denounced by the Government.
The head of the Judiciary stressed the importance of the independence of functions and beyond what President Lasso says, the investigations will follow the normal process.
