Ecuador's Former Vice President To Appeal Judge's Decision To Return To Jail

Jorge Glas, the former vice president of Ecuador, is all set to appeal a judge's decision, which orders him to return to jail, by saying that it would be dangerous for him.

Glas, who was convicted for corruption twice, requested Mexico for political asylum last week. According to the former vice president, he was being persecuted by Ecuador's attorney general's office.

Edison Loiza, who served as Glas' lawyer, made an appeal Thursday against the judge's ruling, saying that his client's life could be in danger if he returned to jail, as per Reuters.

The 54-year-old former vice president was sentenced to six years in prison in 2017 for being involved in receiving bribes from Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht and providing the company with government contracts.

Aside from this, he was also sentenced to eight years in prison in 2020 for utilizing contractors' money to finance campaigns for ex-President Rafael Correa, for whom he worked from 2013 to 2017.

Glas was released last year in November after being in jail for five years. While the former vice president can freely travel within Ecuador, he is not allowed to leave the country due to his remaining prison time.

Glas' request for asylum was confirmed last week when lawyer Eduardo Franco Loor told Reuters there had been a "political persecution since 2017 which has scaled up recently by the attorney general, who arbitrarily is trying to process and detain Jorge Glas, who is innocent," the Strait Times reported. "There is tremendous political hatred."

Aside from working as a vice president, Glas has also served as Minister of Telecommunications and Minister of Strategic Sectors.

The Mexican government has provided asylum to many former government officials, who worked under Correa's 10-year-long term, on the basis of political persecution. However, the Ecuadorean government said that Glas' request for such asylum would be considered invalid due to his convictions.

Considering Ecuador's internal issues, the country has been dealing with a high volume of various crimes, including drug trafficking and kidnapping. The nation's newly elected president, Daniel Noboa, has pledged that his administration will reduce violence in the country.