The National Justice Court of Ecuador retakes resumed the judicial process named “Bribes Case” against Ecuador's ex-President Rafael Correa and other members of his administration, as the former Vice President Jorge Glas, the Legal Secretary to the Presidency Alexis Mera and the ex-Minister of Public Works and Transportation María de Los Ángeles Duarte. The former functionaries deny the accusations and claim there´s a political prosecution against them.
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The citizenship supports this affirmation and alleges the process is a political operation to limit Correa's aspirations to run for the presidency in the 2021 elections. If there is an executed sentence before November 20, the former president will not be able to run for any elected office.
In Eduardo Franco Loor´s opinion, part of the ex-mandatary legal staff, the trial is a facade to politically disable Correa and Glas and distort their public credibility. According with the general prosecutor's office of Ecuador, the supposed bribes were made from 2012 to 2016 and exceed the 7.5 million dollars.
The audience is informed after an analysis of a challenge order petition, requested by Correa´s defense against the judges leading the court: Iván Saquicela, Iván león y Marco Rodríguez, alleging partiality and incompetence in the case development.
One of the arguments points to the intervention of Chief of State Lenin Moreno's relative in the designation of one of the judges, Ivan León. “This violates the Constitution and Interamerican Convention. The prosecution is not part of the impeachment trial ” the lawyer affirmed.