After the amnesties granted in Ecuador 268 people prosecuted for different protests, the Association of Generals of the National Police demands the same treatment for more than 200 police and military officers singled out for alleged excesses during the riots that the country experienced in October 2019.
“We seek the same treatment of the 268 people who were amnestied and whose processes have ended. Some of us are in the process, others are under investigation, others are yet to come.” explained to EFE the general in passive service of the Alfonso Camacho National Policewho presides over that Association that is made up of 126 officers.
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Last Friday, he headed a delegation that asked the National Assembly (Parliament) to consider amnestying uniformed police officers and members of the Armed forces prosecuted or who could be in the future, in relation to the violent demonstrations that had to placate in 2019.
Waiting to be able to locate all the members of the security forces in a similar situation, Camacho accounts to date more than 200 clear or pending casesbut does not rule out requesting “Another amnesty, which should be general, for the 53,000 policemen who intervened throughout the country.”
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The National Assembly resolved on March 10 to grant amnesties to those investigated and sentenced, of whom 60 were prosecuted for alleged crimes committed in the 2019 mobilizations, 153 for being involved in protests for community territories, 43 identified as environmental defenders and a dozen for administering indigenous justice .
Among the beneficiaries of these amnesties were Leonidas Izapresident of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (Conaie), the entity that channeled the 2019 protests, as well as the prefect of the province of Pichincha, Paola Pabonloyal to former president Rafael Correa (2007-2017), in addition to several “defenders of water.”
The decision provoked a bitter debate around two conflicting views: for some, the amnestied are defenders criminalizedwhile for others, they are prosecuted for committing violent acts.
The Government of Guillermo Lasso seeks to annul the amnesties granted with an appeal before the Constitutional Court presented by the former Minister of Government (Interior) Alexandra Vela.