The Belgian court has rejected a request from the Ecuadorian justice for the extradition of former president Rafael Correa. His defense announced this on Friday. Correa has been sentenced to eight years in prison in his country for corruption, but he is currently staying in Brussels.
“The Belgian Ministry of Justice now confirms (…) that it will not comply with Ecuador’s extradition request”, and “that Belgium will also refuse to cooperate with the Ecuadorian justice in the context of political processes”, it reads. in a statement from the law firm Jus Cogens on Twitter. No reference is made to an official Belgian announcement.
Correa is married to a Belgian woman and has lived in Brussels for years. Our country recognized him as a political refugee on April 15. Political asylum already appeared to be a major obstacle to Ecuadorian authorities’ attempts to extradite the ex-president, but according to the man’s lawyers, Belgian courts have now buried any possibility of extradition.
Corruption
Rafael Correa was president of the South American country from 2007 to 2017. Two years ago, he was sentenced in absentia to eight years in prison for corruption. He would have been aware of bribes that construction companies paid to politicians and officials and would even have been indirectly responsible for the corruption network. Correa denied the allegations and pointed to his successors, who he said are waging a political campaign against him.
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