By Alexandra Valencia
QUITO (Reuters) – A tribunal in Ecuador on Friday ruled the arrest of former vice president Jorge Glas last week was illegal, but said he must remain in jail due to his previous convictions.
Glas, twice convicted of corruption and now facing fresh charges, was arrested a week ago during a raid by police on Mexico’s Quito embassy, where he had been living since December.
Glas’ defense team said the three-judge tribunal should declare his capture at the embassy illegal, arguing that Ecuador’s government violated his human rights and international law by authorizing security forces to enter a diplomatic mission.
Former President Rafael Correa, who Glas served under between 2013 and 2017, on Wednesday said Glas had attempted suicide and was on hunger strike to protest his imprisonment at a jail in Guayaquil, which his lawyer Sonia Vera later confirmed.
Glas was taken to hospital on Monday, before being returned to prison the next day.
(Reporting by Alexandra Valencia)
