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Relatives request for David Romo to be searched by the FBI
Posted On 13 Nov 2018
Ecuadornews:
The family of the young man who disappeared in May 2013, togetherwith the Office of the Prosecutor, are part of a working group withinternational and national experts. From scratch they will begin theinvestigations to find David Romo, who disappeared on May 16, 2013.
At 22:22 that day, his mother Alexandra Cordova called him andremembers that the young man, at that time of 21 years, told him in a lowvoice: “I’m on the bus, I’m close”. After that 80-second call, shedid not hear from him again.
A group of lawyers with national and international representation joined to give legal support to the investigation. On August 7, 2017, they filed a complaint for human rights violations in the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), where, according to lawyer Byron Ayala Montaño, they hope that the State will be recommended for investigations to punish those responsible, in addition, they expect psychological recognition and rehabilitation and compensation and that measures be taken to avoid repetition of these cases.
In these actions, the attorneys Juan Pablo Albán and Cindy Aguiar,from the legal offices of the San Francisco University of Quito, as well asMontaño and his father Byron Ayala Custode, participate in the firm GlobalAdvise. They estimate that there are responsibilities of nine entities,including the Office of the Prosecutor, Police, Ministry of the Interior, andCouncil of the Judiciary.
They hope that the resolution of the IACHR will be known in the first quarter of next year and then approved by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights for mandatory compliance by the State.
Ayala recalled that on August 3 the Ombudsman issued several conclusions of the case, including identified violations of due process. They also questioned the reservation qualification that the file had for two years.
The national legal process
On August 16, 2017, the national defense, headed by lawyer Álex Bonifaz, filed an action for enforced disappearance. This investigation is open. As part of this process, the Office of the Prosecutor created a working group on September 10, composed of the mother, lawyers, as well as national and international experts and researchers to work on the search.
According to Bonifaz, experts from the US FBI will participate. However, the family requested that the police and the Dinased not intervene, “because they support their theories in television programs,” said Córdova.
The lawyer clarified that the investigations will go from zero, because there are “several negligence and omissions on the part of the prosecutors who participated in the case”. For example, he explained that the first prosecutor, Jorge Nogales, opened two investigations, one for robbery and the other for disappearance, the same process being the case.
CHRONOLOGY
The new group of lawyers finds several inconsistencies and omissions in the investigations for the disappearance of the young person.
May 16, 2013
Alexandra Cordova, mother of David, called him on his BlackBerry phone at 22:22. According to the woman, David told her in a low voice: “I’m on the bus, I’m close”. The call lasted 80 seconds, but the young man’s phone was not found.
May 17 – 18 2013
The mother goes to the police to present the complaint, but does not accept it. Wait 48 hours.
On May 18, she insists and receives the complaint. There they say: “He went to the beach” and “will be with his girlfriend”.
May 26, 2013
They find David’s phone. Arrested bus driver Christian L., driver Moisés C., Edgar M., who stole the device and José Luis M. hid it in his house. The last two were sentenced to 1 year and 4 months.
September 10 2017
Carlos L. and Blanca F., owners of the clandestine clinic La Esperanza, as well as the therapist and five ex-inmates of the center, are arrested. It is hypothesized that he was killed, then mutilated and incinerated in the place.
August 14 2018
In the trial hearing against the defendants, the prosecutor AndrésCuasapaz included a new version of a finding in Calderón and left the death inthe clinic without effect. The defendants were dismissed. (I)
Source: https://www.eltelegrafo.com.ec/noticias/judicial/12/cordova-peritos-fbi-busqueda-davidromo
