Rafael Correa plays his last card in Ecuador's justice this Monday

(Tomas Cuesta / Getty Images)

(CNN Spanish) - 

A court of the National Court of Justice of Ecuador will announce on Monday at 3:00 p.m. (local time) its resolution on the appeal for cassation filed by the defense of former President Rafael Correa and others sentenced to eight years imprisonment for the crime of aggravated bribery.

It is the last resort that the ex-president plays within the Ecuadorian courts.

As reported by the National Court of Justice, the magistrates of the cassation court met the second day of hearing on Monday, in which Correa and other defendants had the opportunity to state whether they consider that their rights have been affected during the development of the process.

During his participation by videoconference, former President Correa, who has lived in Belgium since 2017, stated that he has never allowed a bribe, that the judicial process "is a big set-up" and that "it has been proven that there was procedural fraud."

At the end of his presentation, the ex-president addressed the judges and told them electronically: "it is in your hands to change history and do justice."

• LEE: Rafael Correa tries, through his sister, to register his candidacy for the vice-presidency from Belgium

The attorney general, Diana Salazar, asked the judges to reject the arguments of the attorneys for the defendants and the appeals presented.

"We have supported our theory in a technical-legal way as we have been doing since May 2019. It is the sentence that corresponds in law and that the sentence is ratified," Salazar told the media at the end of the hearing.

Former President Rafael Correa was sentenced in April this year to eight years in prison for the crime of aggravated bribery within a "criminal structure" that operated from 2012 to 2016 and which, according to the Prosecutor's Office, involved officials and businessmen in a plot to receive money from Odebrecht and other companies for their political movement in exchange for the delivery of public works.

Since 2018, the former president has also been subject to a prison order for the alleged kidnapping of an opposition activist, despite the fact that Correa has denied the accusations.

Judges Javier de la Cadena, Milton Ávila and José Layedra have in their hands the final decision on the appeal for cassation presented by Rafael Correa and 15 other defendants.

On Monday, the verdict will be presented orally, in which the sentence against Correa could be ratified, aspects of the sentence corrected or declared invalid.

In the event that the court ratifies the sentence of 8 years in prison against Correa, the former president, who ruled Ecuador for 10 years, has indicated that he will go to international organizations.

Rafael Correa