Ecuador demands extradition of Rafael Correa, Belgium gives him asylum

Belgium granted political asylum on Friday to former Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa, who has been exiled in the country since 2017, according to his lawyer Christophe Marchand.

Shortly after, the Ecuadorian National Court of Justice announced that it had formally requested his extradition. Correa was sentenced in 2020 to eight years in prison for aggravated bribery.

"I have signed the order initiating the extradition process of the former president," the president of the Court of the South American country, Ivan Saquicela, said in an interview with the local television channel Teleamazonas.

#ATENCIÓN | Iván Saquicela acaba de firmar el pedido de extradición desde Bélgica a Ecuador de Rafael Correa pic.twitter.com/inWztKzLOG

— Teleamazonas (@teleamazonasec) April 22, 2022

Saquicela said that there is "a firm sentence" against Correa and that, therefore, the petition is developed "in strict law." "There are no value judgments here. They are not opinions or political criteria, my pronouncement is in law, and it is my duty," said the judge.

The official emphasized that Correa remains a fugitive and his extradition seeks to comply with the final sentence of 2020, when he was sentenced for bribery. With this ruling, the ex-governor also lost his political rights for 25 years, reported France 24.

However, the confirmation of political asylum given by the former president's lawyer, Christophe Marchanda, to EFE would block the extradition request. With this status, Correa is considered to have committed political crimes or to be a victim of persecution. Therefore, there are no grounds to extradite him, according to international law, reported Revista Semana.

Fugitive from justice in Belgium

Correa was convicted of bribery and political disqualification of 25 years in the “Bribes 2012-2016”case, a scheme in which undue contributions were received in the presidential palace of Carondelet for the irregular financing of the ruling Alianza País movement in exchange for the award of millionaire State contracts to companies, among them, the Brazilian Odebrecht.

Around twenty people were convicted in the same corruption case, including former high-ranking officials, such as former vice president Jorge Glas, who was recently released thanks to a controversial habeas corpus, reported EFE.

Correa, who governed Ecuador from 2007 to 2017, settled in Belgium shortly after his mandate concluded and has not returned to the country since the beginning of 2018, when investigation proceedings began to be opened against him. In two of them, preventive arrest warrants were issued.

Belgium grants political asylum

In an April 15 resolution to which EFE had access, the Belgian General Commissariat for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGRS) confirmed that it had granted Correa refugee status in Belgium.

Marchand explained that the asylum request had been set in motion after legal proceedings were initiated in 2018 in Ecuador, linking him to the alleged kidnapping of an opponent in 2012, the so-called "Balda case."

Belgium required them to prove that Corre was being politically persecuted in Ecuador against Correa. They provided "documentation on the criminal cases against him with political motivations" and "aimed at impeding his political career," said the Belgian lawyer.

Correa had already been summoned in 2018 by the Ecuadorian justice system for the kidnapping in Colombia of political opponent Fernando Balda.

On that occasion, Interpol rejected the request for extradition from Belgium on the grounds that "the retention of the data was not compatible with its obligation to ensure effective cooperation between police authorities within the framework of respect for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights," reported EFE.

However, in relation to the process of the kidnapping of the political activist, the former head of Ecuadorian intelligence Pablo Romero was apprehended by the Spanish authorities after being located by Interpol. As a result, he was extradited to Ecuador in 2020, where he was sentenced to nine years in prison for the crime of kidnapping.

‼️#URGENTE‼️ #Bélgica concede asilo político al exmandatario @MashiRafael

Bélgica, al igual que otros países como #Mexico y #Bolivia, también reconoce persecución política en contra de #RafaelCorrea y su movimiento político. @teleSURtv pic.twitter.com/wM41QXLLR8

— teleSUR Ecuador (@teleSUREcuador) April 22, 2022