After a controversial ruling, Jorge Glas, the former vice president of Rafael Correa convicted of corruption, was released

Former Vice President Jorge Glas regained his freedom in the midst of a questioned trial. Glas, who was vice president of Rafael Correa and Lenín Moreno, was sentenced for illicit association, bribery and embezzlement. However, a judge accepted a request for habeas corpus, which allowed the politician correista to leave the prison in which he has spent more than four years. Although the legal decision will be appealed by the government of Guillermo Lasso.

When Jorge Glas left Latacunga prison, he wore a blue suit, had dark glasses and an earring. He left smiling and greeted the Correista supporters who were outside the prison awaiting his arrival. Glas, who did not give any statements to the press, immediately embarked on the vehicle that took him in a caravan to Guayaquil. Glas's image is far from what his defence argued for him to be granted habeas corpus. According to Glas's defense, the former vice president's health was deteriorating and even suicidal ideas would have crossed his head. But the Glas who got out of prison looked more like a politician on the campaign than a deteriorated prisoner looking to rest and recover.

After regaining his freedom, Jorge Glas traveled more than 300 kilometers to reach Guayaquil and was greeted by a crowd that hailed him.

The questions

Last Saturday, a judge from the Multicompetent Unit of the Manglaralto parish, province of Santa Elena, granted a habeas corpus appeal in favor of Glas. This is one of seven different appeals submitted for the former vice president to regain his release. However, the judge's decision has been questioned, mainly because of the judge's territorial competence and because Glas has two executory sentences, that is, they passed through all judicial instances and his guilt was ratified by several judges.

Habeas corpus is an action that restores freedom to a person who is imprisoned arbitrarily, illegally or illegitimately and when seeking to preserve the life and physical integrity of the prisoner. This was the third habeas corpus presented by Glas's defense.

On territorial jurisdiction, the Law on Jurisdictional Guarantees and Constitutional Control specifies that the action must be known and decided by a judge in the place where the prisoner is, but Manglaralto, where the judge ruled in favor of Glas, is almost 500 kilometers from Latacunga prison, where the former vice-president was serving the sentence. This resolution was made possible because in 2021, the Constitutional Court amended the provisions of the law and decided that “the competent judges are those of prison guarantees, as well as the judges of criminal and multi-competent guarantees”, which Glas defence used to request action in Manglaralto.

In addition, Jorge Glas has two executory sentences and one on appeal, meaning that he was not arbitrarily, illegally or illegitimately detained. Therefore, his defense assured that the former vice president's health was at risk. However, “now any prisoner of liberty who is serving an enforceable sentence can take advantage of this figure indicating that there is damage to their health, that they do not access food and that this means inhuman, degrading treatment, and that there is therefore arbitrary deprivation of liberty,” the lawyer explained to Primicias constitutionalist Ismael Quintana.

Even if a judge has accepted the habeas corpus action in favor of Glas, this does not mean that his sentences have been forgotten, forgiven or that his innocence has been confirmed. The former vice president is still guilty.

The official position and the pact

Guillermo Lasso's administration has announced that it will appeal the judge's decision, but that it respects the independence of functions, so the former vice president's release ballot was issued, allowing him to leave prison on the morning of last Sunday.

The Minister of Government, Francisco Jiménez, in an official message indicated that “the Government categorically rejects the judge's decision in the Glas case”. He also pointed out that “Ecuador cannot always be between democracy and barbarism, between hatred and progress, it must choose democracy and it must focus on achieving progress for all”.

Despite these statements, which are consistent with the official communiqués issued by the Presidency of the Republic, Guillermo de Lasso has been questioned in public opinion and accused of agreeing with the Correísmo in exchange for governance and that the laws proposed by the Executive may be approved in the Legislature, where correísmo has the largest number of legislators.

The Christian Social Party issued a statement repudiating the “undisputed pact between President Guillermo Lasso and former President Rafael Correa”, as they published on their social networks. Social Christians accuse Lasso of having agreed with Correa to impose taxes — in reference to the tax law that was approved by the law ministry because of the abstention of the Correista bench — to approve the amnesties for those accused of terrorism and other crimes in the October 2019 protests — where he amnesty to leaders of the correísmo — to bring precautionary measures to allow the president of the National Assembly to remain in office, and to grant Glas freedom through the questioned habeas corpus.

For its part, the ruling party CREO also issued a statement accusing a pact between the Social Christians and the Correistas. According to Guillermo Lasso's party, there is an agreement between these parties and it is evident because their seats vote together in the legislature. In addition, they accuse them of being the authors of Glas's freedom: “Now through the obscure procedure of a judge in Manglaralto, he allows Glas to be released from prison with tricks aimed at maintaining impunity and creating indignation throughout Ecuador to continue to generate destabilization.”

The judgments

Jorge Glas, 52, was sentenced to six years in prison for unlawful association. The former vice president received USD 13.5 million in bribes from Odebrecht to award them contracts between 2010 and 2012. Glas is subject to an 8-year prison sentence for the Bribes Case 2012-2016, for which Rafael Correa was also sentenced. Glas was convicted of bribery, because while he was Vice President and in charge of the strategic sectors, the entities he was in charge of participated in a bribery scheme aimed at financing Alianza PAIS, Correa's late party.

The defense of Glas is currently appealing the 8-year sentence for the crime of embezzlement in the Singue case, an oil block whose award caused millionaire damage to the State. Glas was a member of the Hydrocarbon Tender Committee that was responsible for the negotiation.

The correista version of the sentences against Glas in these cases is that the former vice president is a political prisoner. Former President Rafael Correa has called Glas a hero and, for the last few hours, has dedicated himself to refuting any questioning of Glas's freedom, through his Twitter account.

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