Belgium Rejects Correa’s Extradition Request to Ecuador

Former Ecuador President Rafael Correa said the political asylum he has been granted in Belgium is proof he is persecuted by his country’s authorities and did not rule out a return to politics.

Published 7 May 2022

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Belgium rejected this Friday the request for extradition against former Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa, made by Quito, confirms his lawyer.

The Belgian Ministry of Justice has rejected this Friday Ecuador's request for the extradition of Rafael Correa, as reported by the Spanish news agency EFE, citing the former Ecuadorian president's lawyer, Christophe Marchand.

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Besides denying Correa's extradition request, considering that the criminal proceedings opened against him are manifestly contrary to the right to a fair trial, the Belgian Ministry has stated that "it will refuse to cooperate with the Ecuadorian Justice in the framework of political proceedings".

Likewise, the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), through the Commission for the Control of Files, has not accepted to issue the red notices demanded by Ecuador due to "the appearance of flagrant denial of justice and the political nature of the case", the defense of the former president has assured.

��BÉLGICA CONFIRMA QUE, RAFAEL CORREA ES "PERSEGUIDO POLÍTICO", NO "PRÓFUGO DE LA JUSTICIA" Y RATIFICA SU "ASILO"��#Excelente
Nueva cachetada internacional al LAWFARE que emite la justicia ecuatoriana. Bélgica indica que #NO cooperará con la extradición de #RafaelCorrea. pic.twitter.com/l6UTwlraje
— Ermel Rosario (@ErmelRosario) May 6, 2022

BELGIUM CONFIRMS THAT RAFAEL CORREA IS “POLITICALLY PERSECUTED”,

NOT "FUGITIVE FROM JUSTICE" AND RATIFIES HIS "ASYLUM" #Excelente
New international slap in the face of LAWFARE issued by the Ecuadorian justice system. Belgium indicates that it will NOT cooperate with the extradition of RafaelCorrea .

On April 22, Belgium confirmed having granted asylum to Correa in that country, where his wife, Ann Malherbede, is from and has resided since 2017. This took place a day after the National Court of Justice (CNJ) of Ecuador requested to Belgium the extradition of the former head of state to serve the custodial sentence imposed against him for his participation as immediate perpetrator in the crime of bribery.

The former Ecuadorian president submitted the asylum request to the European country in 2018 after a legal process was initiated against him in Ecuador, accusing him of the kidnapping of an opponent in 2012, in what came to be known as the "Balda case".

However, the former president has always denied any link to the Balda case and points out that the accusation is part of a vulgar political and media persecution.