Former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas waving the victory sign. Photo: EFE/File photo.
Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court (STF) overturned the evidence presented by Brazilian conglomerate Odebrecht against former Vice President of Ecuador Jorge Glas. In 2017, Glas was sentenced by the Ecuadorian Court to six years in prison for allegedly having received bribes from Odebrecht.
This sentence proves that Glas was unjustly convicted in Ecuador. It explains that “the annulment was based on the fact that the evidence submitted did not have judicial authorization; nor was due legal process respected.”
Ecuador: Former Vice President Jorge Glas Released from Prison
Glas’ defense team, led by the Brussels-based international law firm Juscogens, challenged the validity of Odebrecht’s evidence before the STF. In addition, it demonstrated the “illegality of the evidence through strategic, innovative and effective litigation.”
The legal team explained that among the annulled evidence are documents and testimonies provided by Odebrecht executives, illegally used by the Ecuadorian prosecutor’s office.
Likewise, the court determined that a copy of the decision, which declares the uselessness of the evidence against Glas, be sent to the Brazilian Ministry of Justice, which will forward it to the government of Ecuador through the Department of Asset Recovery and International Cooperation.
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According to his lawyers, Glas’ case highlights “the trend of lawfare in Latin America, defined by the Lawfare Observatory of the Latin American Strategic Center for Geopolitics (CELAC) as a political war through judicial channels, with economic, political and geopolitical interests hidden from public opinion.”
CELAC point out that “leaders such as Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in Argentina and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Brazil have been victims of this strategy; dismantled or reversed in many cases.”
(RedRadioVE) by Milena Bravo, with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SF
