07/20/2020 - 23:38
- Clarín.com
- World
The National Court of Justice (CNJ) of Ecuador ratified the sentence of eight years in prison for bribery and pay compensation as "author" of the same to the former President Rafael Correa, accused of the case "Bribes 2012-2016".
After two weeks of deliberation, the Court upheld the judgment issued at first instance against the ex-president and the majority of the twenty convicts in the file.
"The court dismisses appeals from the majority of those sentenced, ratifies the bribery sentence for 18 -including Rafael Correa- and modifies the sentence for two," the State Attorney General's office reported on social media.
"Proportional parameters" were also established to compensate the State for the damages caused, so that the authors are obligated to pay a sum of $ 778,224 each and the accomplices $ 368,632.
The corruption sentence has not surprised the Ecuadorian ex-president, who has lived in Belgium since 2017 and is required by the Justice of his country.
"Although it is hard to believe, it was to be expected. There can be no more ridiculous 'case' and 'sentence'," Correa reacted in a tweet.
"They are not going to defeat us, but all the innocent people who are suffering from trying to harm me hurt me," he added, calling the case "one of the darkest pages in the history of the country."
According to his lawyer, Fausto Jarrín, after the decision, the National Court of Justice must notify the parties in writing of the resolution, for which there remain "horizontal remedies for clarification and expansion."
"From there they just closed everything and we have to present the Cassation so that it goes to another room," he explained to the EFE agency.
Judges Iván León, David Jacho and Dilza Muñoz were members of the Ecuadorian court, which ruled against Rafael Correa. EFE photo
The "Bribes" case judges an alleged corruption network between 2012 and 2016 through which "undue contributions" were received at the Carondelet presidential palace for the irregular financing of the pro-government political movement Alianza País, in exchange for the award of millionaire contracts of the Status to companies, including Odebrecht.
Last April, a court sentenced Correa to eight years in prison and 25 years of political disqualification , for his alleged participation in the crime of bribery, a sentence now ratified in the second instance.
If endorsed in the third and last instance, the sentence will prevent Correa from participating in the politics of his country again, given that, in his case, the sentence is for bribery.
Some of the defendants asked for the sentence to be annulled on the grounds that it is due to an alleged "political persecution" by the current government of Lenín Moreno, a former Correa re-religionist with whom he fell out after leaving office in 2017.
Of all the accused, the national judges Iván León, David Jacho and Dilza Muñoz did accept in their ruling this Monday, albeit partially, the appeals of former high officials Alexis Mera and Walter Solís, so that the suspension of rights civilians that had been imposed on them, will not be for 25 years but for the duration of their original sentence.
For former presidential secretary Laura Terán, the sentence has been reduced to three months and six days, and in the case of businessman Alberto Hidalgo, his criminal charge went from "author" to "accomplice" and his sentence was reduced to 32 months in prison. .
LP