Rafael Correa and Pablo Romero could be left alone in case Bald
Ecuadornews:
That the parts have time to know the basis of the absentee opinions in favor of General Fausto Tamayo and intelligence agent Jorge Espinosa, and avoid problems generated in a new foliatura of the case file, were the reasons that forced the judge yesterday Daniella Camacho, of the National Court of Justice, to suspend the preparatory hearing for the kidnapping of Fernando Balda.
The suspension occurred only 40 minutes after the stagecoach was installed. Camacho called the attention of the Office of the Prosecutor for having delivered his abstentive opinion at 08:49 yesterday, shortly before the procedure (10:00).
The judge explained that after the third deferral in this case, Attorney General Paul Perez had more than a month to inform the parties of his decision. While the representative of the Public Ministry rejected the call for attention and clarified that he has not violated any rule; and on the abstention in favor of Tamayo and Espinosa said that there were not enough elements to accuse them.
Despite the fact that Judge Camacho, at the beginning of the hearing, prohibited the issuing of offenses against present or absent, two statements against Attorney Pérez by Caupolicán Ochoa, a lawyer of former President Rafael Correa who is also prosecuted as an author, broke the relative tranquility.
Balda angrily requested that Ochoa be evicted from the room for not only insinuating that Pérez was an ad hoc representative of the Prosecutor’s Office, but also for ironically that Perez “claims to be attorney general.”
From the audience, Correistas shouted at Balda, “Shut up, thief.” The incident ended with the eviction of a man who threatened Felipe Rodríguez, defender of Balda.
Antonio Ingroia, former Italian anti-mafia prosecutor and part of the International Monitoring brought by the strap, described as an “absurd thing and a shame” that Balda has asked to expel Ochoa by a very soft phrase as “ad hoc prosecutor”.
Judge Camacho ruled that the hearing be reinstated next Friday, September 21 and also ordered that this process be given to the abbreviated procedure requested by intelligence agents Raúl Chicaiza and Jéssica Falcón. They, says his lawyer Diego Chimbo, cooperated with the Prosecutor’s Office with the delivery of relevant information.
Once issued the abstentive against Tamayo and Espinosa and to resolve on Friday the situation of Chicaiza and Falcon, who seek to benefit from a reduction in sentence, only the former president Correa and the former National Secretary of Intelligence (Senain), Pablo, would remain in the process.
If there is an accusatory opinion of the Prosecutor’s Office against both and that this leads to an appeal to trial, the case would not advance to the next phase, because the crimes of illicit association and plagiarism (kidnapping) that are investigated in this case, are infractions that cannot be judged in absence.
Correa now lives in Belgium and Romero in Spain, and against both there are requests for extradition in process.
No order from Interpol
Christophe Marchand, Correa’s lawyer in Belgium, said yesterday that this procedure has been suspended at Interpol. He said that once they heard about the international arrest warrant, they sent documents to the institution, in France, to stop that request.
“Interpol has suspended the demand of Ecuador. That is something very exceptional, it does not happen much … “, said the Belgian lawyer of Correa.
However, Rodriguez said that is false and asked Marchand to present the document that shows what he says. “The issue will be discussed next month. That is to say, the case of Rafael Correa has not been dealt with by Interpol …” (I)