Ecuador judge orders preventative detention and other measures for 17 defendants in organized crime and bribery case News
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Ecuador judge orders preventative detention and other measures for 17 defendants in organized crime and bribery case

The Ecuadorian State Attorney’s General Office announced Sunday that a national judge granted prosecutor Diana Salazar’s request and ordered the preventative detention of 14 defendants in a case related to alleged bribery and organized crime. The judge also ordered house arrest and the use of electronic devices for two elderly individuals, as well as preventative measures for.a pregnant defendant. Moreover, the bank accounts of all those linked are to be retained for a total of one million dollars, divided proportionally among each of them.

According to the daily Ecuadorian newspaper El Comercio, the defendants were arrested in last Saturday in a joint operation in eight provinces of the country. This raid was part of a much larger investigation known as the “Plaga Case” (translated: plague case), which seeks to break down an alleged organized crime network accused of manipulating the Ecuadorian judicial system to free prisoners through bribes.

Among the accused are judges, secretaries, prison officials, lawyers and other public officials. Cristian Giovanny R. M. was named as the leader of the organization who allegedly directed, planned and coordinated the freeing of prisoners. This included managing transfers from one social rehabilitation center to another, interventions in pre-arranged hearings, and the facilitated issuance of medical certificates. This primarily involved carrying out bribes of numerous administrative and judicial personnel including high-ranking officials.

In early April of this year, a similar operation was carried out in eight provinces, in which important evidence was obtained and 14 people were arrested. Here too, preventative detention was ordered for 13 out of the 14 defendants.

According to El Comercio, 241 prisoners were released between January 2022 and March 2023, by claiming to have risk conditions or illness. These assertions were often not proven in court but convinced judges through “habeas corpus,” a legal procedure meant to safeguard personal freedom.

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