Ecuador court upholds arrest order against former president Abdalá Bucaram

An Ecuadorian court has kept an arrest order in place against former President Abdalá Bucaram after rejecting a habeas corpus petition filed by his wife, María Rosa Pulley.

Pulley argued that the order threatened Bucaram’s health and life. The former president, who is elderly, reportedly suffers from serious illnesses and a heart condition. Judges at the Guayas Provincial Court rejected those arguments and upheld an order issued by another court in Quito.

The order followed repeated failures to restart a hearing where judges are expected to issue a ruling in a case involving alleged organized crime. Bucaram, his son Jacobo and two other people face charges in the case. The latest hearing failed on Sept. 3, the third postponement linked to the former president’s health.

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permanent surveillance

Bucaram’s lawyers and relatives first said he had been hospitalized for emergency heart surgery on Aug. 26. After leaving that hospital, he entered another one on the day the hearing was due to take place. The hearing was postponed again, and his defense later said he had not recovered from the operation.

Judges ordered police to maintain permanent surveillance outside the hospital and arrest Bucaram when he is discharged so he can hear the sentence. Prosecutors allege that he, his son and the other defendants worked with a criminal structure between March and August 2020, generating financial benefits from the sale of 21,000 COVID-19 tests and other medical supplies. The trial began on April 11 of the previous year after several postponements dating back to 2022. Fifty experts and witnesses have testified.

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catastrophic illnesses