Ecuador: Commission Receives Evidence Against Jorge Glas

Ecuador's Inspection Commission has convened with assemblyman Roberto Gomez Alcivar, the trial judge presenting evidence in the impeachment hearings against suspended Vice-President Jorge Glas.

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The impeachment request, based on Article 90 of the Organic Law, has been signed by 63 legislators and was admitted for processing by the Legislative Administration Council (CAL) on December 17.

Ecuador's Constitucional Court then issued the corresponding admissibility report, which was sent to the National Assembly on December 22.

The Legislative Board of Directors was informed of the admissibility ruling four days later and the General Secretariat forwarded the file to the Supervisory Commission so that it would be aware of the request and substantiate the process, according to El Telegrafo.

The commission also plans to receive Attorney General Carlos Baca Mancheno to report on the progress of the Odebrecht corruption investigation and detail further proof that led him to indict Glas in the criminal trial for alleged illicit association.

Despite the legal case mounting against him, Glas' lawyer, Eduardo Franco, said the suspended vice-president, albeit detained, will not cease his official functions. Glas has been notified that he will be able to present evidence against the charges by Sunday.

Glas has also decided to appeal the charges before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), Franco said. The decision was made after Ecuadorean President Lenin Moreno said Glas is no longer in a position to remain as vice-president, per the Constitution.

Meanwhile, former Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa has returned from Belgium to condemn Moreno's decision to hold a February 4 referendum as "unconstitutional." Correa also criticized the current administration for prohibiting Glas from performing his public duties.