Justice defines responsible in cases Balda and Froilán Jiménez

Ecuadornews:

Two cases that the Office of the Prosecutor activated this year point to former President Rafael Correa: kidnapping of Fernando Balda and crime of Froilán Jiménez during the revolt of 30-S. Both judicial processes passed from the reserved investigation and are now in the hands of the judges.

This means that the Prosecutor’s Office found evidence and filed charges against the possible perpetrators. The kidnapping of Balda In this case, the National Court must decide whether or not to call Correa to trial.

At 10:00 today, the trial preparatory hearing will be resumed. The defense of the former head of state plans to present the arguments that, in his opinion, confirm the innocence of Correa. One of the theses is that the witnesses protected and imputed in this case, the intelligence police Raúl Chicaiza and Diana Falcón, were forced to accuse the former president.

Caupolican Ochoa, Correa’s lawyer, said there was no evidence against Falcon and that they practically keep her as “hostage, only for the purpose of incriminating a third person.” Assemblywoman Sofía Espín, akin to Correa, has the same criteria. Yesterday she again justified the visit he made on Monday, together with lawyer Yadira Cadena, to the witness, held in a prison in Quito.

“She is in defenselessness, practically they have made her blame herself, so I went to ask that.” She said he was not sorry for that visit and that he did not fear that the Prosecutor’s Office would initiate an investigation. “That the Prosecutor open the processes he wants. We, in the Assembly, expect him to come to take possession in the first place … he has an assignment and nowhere in the Constitution says prosecutor in charge “.

Paúl Pérez, attorney general in charge, announced that if a crime related to the visits (of people outside the trial) to the Chicago and Falcón ex-agents is detected, a parallel investigation will be opened.

The Ministry of Justice, in charge of the prisons, also announced that it will review the visit of the assembly member and the lawyer Cadena, since in the rehabilitation centers there are protocols to control all the income. For example, the person deprived of liberty must authorize the entry of a guest and the visitor must be included in a list that is sent weeks in advance. “If these protocols have not been complied with and with the established technical standards, this State Portfolio will take the corresponding administrative actions against the responsible public servants,” said the Ministry.

For the Interior Minister, María Paula Romo, this incident is serious, since it coincides with the hearings in the Court. “This is a case in which the whole country is pending, a case in which according to the Prosecutor’s Office would be involved including the former President, we are talking about a very sensitive crime and a person who cooperates with the law as a witness protected, “she said.

Yesterday Balda, on the other hand, referred to lawyer Cadena, who accompanied Espín to jail. According to him, the professional is part of the Prosecutor’s Office as part of Correa’s defense team. Through a letterhead sheet in which the name of the Caupolicán Ochoa Law Firm is recorded, Cadena registered his name and email in the file to receive notifications about the case. That he did last June. This newspaper tried, without result, to contact the lawyer.

The revolt of 30-S In the case of police Jiménez, Correa is investigated for an extrajudicial execution. This is a crime that does not prescribe, according to the Penal Code. In this issue, the former president is investigated as a possible mediate author, a criminal figure that implies that a person commits an offense using a third party.

Formally, the Prosecutor’s Office has not yet requested a hearing to link Correa in the process, but the file has already been taken to the general office, where the cases of authorities that have court jurisdiction are known.

Prosecutor Fabián Salazar, who asked Correa to be questioned, said that “it is essential that not only the person who caused the death of Jiménez be investigated, but also the plaintiff who was behind and who allowed a violation to take place in the context of the Human Rights.

Refers to the shootout that originated during the operation to evacuate Correa from the Police Hospital, where he had taken refuge. After this fact, the Prosecutor’s Office has prosecuted 298 people, although 76 confirmed their innocence, until June 2017, which is the last statistic. Yesterday, the policemen, soldiers and people prosecuted after the revolt asked the legislators to grant them a “general amnesty”.

The request was received by the head of this State Function, Elizabeth Cabezas, in the room of the former presidents of Parliament. “This is a case that involves immense pain and grief for many families, Cabezas acknowledged, while in the hall dozens of people in black shirts shouted:” 30-S, never again! “.

They are part of the 30-S Victims collective. In the order, the processed point to Correa and say that the acts of violence that occurred that day allowed the former president to “victimize and manipulate public opinion.” They also point to the former head of state for ordering the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces who intervene in the Police Hospital, “putting at risk the lives of the sick and people who were isolated.”

In the letter, the group also qualifies as fraud the alleged coup that took place that day. They say that in order to position this idea in the population, it used public resources from the Senain, with which it was supposedly paid to a commission. For this, there is also another investigation. (I)

Source: https://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/justicia-correa-responsables-casobalda-froilanjimenez.html