By Karin Silvina Hiebaum
International Corresponsal
Ecuador’s judiciary has submitted an extradition request to Belgium for former president Rafael Correa, who has been sentenced in absentia to eight years in prison for graft, authorities said on Friday.
It should be recalled that Correa is requested by the Ecuadorian justice system to answer for the crime of bribery, as it is presumed that he participated in bribery between 2012 and 2016, while he governed the country.
Because of this, he could face a sentence of 8 years in prison plus political disqualification, after having been recognised as one of the main references for the left in Latin America.
funds from private businesses for his 2013 election campaign in return for state contracts worth around $7 million.
After leaving office in 2017 he fled to Belgium, the home country of his wife, where he has lived ever since.
«Yesterday I signed the ruling initiating the extradition process,» Ivan Saquicela, president of the National Court of Justice, told Teleamazonas.
According to Ecuador’s judiciary, Correa and several former government officials and businesspeople took part in a corruption scheme that saw bribes paid for public contracts during his presidency.
«We have a solid conviction. There is an agreement with Belgium and international agreements, as well as the extradition law, which support our request from a legal perspective. There are no value judgements here,» said Saquicela.
Correa responded on Twitter calling Saquicela a «clown» and a government «puppet».
The 59-year-old leftist economist has always denied the accusations and claims to be the victim of political persecution.
Correa was implicated over a $6,000 payment to his private account, which he claims was a loan.
He is also the subject of an arrest warrant over the 2012 kidnapping of a Colombian opposition politician.
He is a fugitive from justice?
Por Karin Hiebaum
Profesora universitaria,
psicóloga y corresponsal en Europa
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