The arrest of Jose Roca in the Valdiviezo case causes controversy

Pedro Buitron defends Jose Roca’s unfair arrest

Family and University friends of Jose Enrique Roca Alarcon Alarcon, one of the eight arrested for the murder of journalist Fausto Valdiviezo Moscoso, gathered yesterday at the home of his parents, located in the citadel Sauces IV, north of Guayaquil.

With banners of support, relatives of Roca demanded an answer of the authorities, because they consider it’s a violation of human rights of the detainee and an attack on the investigative process.

Among the protesters was Pedro Buitron, Roca’s lawyer, who showed a copy of the alleged arrest warrant issued by Judge Gonzalo Merizalde against his client at the request of prosecutor Victor Altamirano. According to Buitron that warrant has no identity of his client, due to the fact that the middle name does not match Roca’s. “My client is called Jose Enrique Roca Ladinez and in the warrant appears the name of Jose Miguel Roca Ladinez,” he stated. Subsequently, the defender said that the apprehension of Roca is supposedly illegal.

Jose Roca was arrested outside the Milagro hospital where he worked for seven months in the Department of Social Communication. After his arrest, Pedro Roca, the defendant’s father, said his son tried to explain to the police that the identity inscribed in the arrest warrant was not his, but the police allegedly threatened to mistreat him if he didn’t got into the police car. Meanwhile Roca said “And these officers said that it was a misprint. However, the copy that was written, the one that Buitron presented with handwriting.”

“This is the hoax of the Valdiviezo case investigation, it is proven the procedure flaws and we have fought a hearing of arraignment, and the Judge did not took it into consideration…” said Pedro Buitron, who prompted the recall of prison of his client.