Body of Polish activist killed in Ecuador to be repatriated for further investigation

The body of Polish activist Monika Silva will leave Ecuador for Poland, where her family wants a more extensive investigation into the death that shocked the coastal community of Montañita.

Silva was found dead at her home in Santa Elena province on June 8. Her death drew attention because of complaints she had made about alleged corruption in the area. The day after her body was found, Ecuador's interior minister, John Reimberg, said authorities suspected suicide, while noting that autopsy results were not yet available.

Silva's relatives and the Ecuadorian Center for the Promotion and Action of Women, known as CEPAM, together with the Permanent Committee for the Defense of Human Rights, rejected that account. They later reported that the autopsy had determined she was murdered. The organizations took up the family's legal defense as local authorities investigated the suspected femicide.

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a more exhaustive investigation that strengthens the search for truth

The European Union delegation and Poland's embassy in Peru, which is also accredited to Ecuador, urged a rapid, comprehensive, independent and transparent investigation. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights asked Ecuador to examine whether Silva's human rights work and corruption complaints were connected to her death.

At the family's request, CEPAM and the human rights committee began arranging the repatriation. Ecuador's prosecutors are expected to hand over the body to the family's legal team and the funeral home on Thursday, in coordination with the European country's government. The defense said the transfer would not end the Ecuadorian case. In a statement, the organizations said, "Monika returns to her homeland, but her struggle remains in Ecuador. We demand that this crime not go unpunished."

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Monika returns to her homeland, but her struggle remains in Ecuador. We demand that this crime not go unpunished.