Torture by Police, Forced Disappearance & Other Ill Treatment In the early years of the 21st Century, 2000 to
2025 gvnet.com/torture/Ecuador.htm
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CAUTION: The following links
have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Ecuador. Some of these links may lead to websites
that present allegations that are unsubstantiated or even false. No
attempt has been made to validate their authenticity or to verify their content. HOW TO USE THIS WEBPAGE Students If you are looking
for material to use in a term-paper, you are advised to scan the postings on this
page and others to see which aspects of Torture by Authorities are of
particular interest to you. You might
be interested in exploring the moral justification for inflicting pain or
inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment in order to obtain critical
information that may save countless lives, or to elicit a confession for a
criminal act, or to punish someone to teach him a lesson outside of the
courtroom. Perhaps your paper might
focus on some of the methods of torture, like fear, extreme temperatures,
starvation, thirst, sleep deprivation, suffocation, or immersion in freezing
water. On the other hand, you might
choose to write about the people acting in an official capacity who
perpetrate such cruelty. There is a
lot to the subject of Torture by Authorities.
Scan other countries as well as this one. Draw comparisons between activity in
adjacent countries and/or regions.
Meanwhile, check out some of the Term-Paper
resources that are available on-line. ***
ARCHIVES *** 2020 Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices: Ecuador U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor, 30 March 2021 www.state.gov/reports/2020-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/ecuador/
[accessed 18 July
2021] TORTURE AND OTHER
CRUEL, INHUMAN, OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT On January 14, the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) released a preliminary
report from its state-sponsored October 2019 visit on reported abuses
relating to the 2019 protests. Numerous detainees claimed authorities abused
them through verbal threats, beatings with fists and metal truncheons, and
forced physical exercises. The IACHR noted that judicial authorities in some
cases did not record evidence presented by victims. Local human rights
organizations reported that torture continued to occur in prisons, especially
at Turi Prison in Azuay Province. On February 27,
Azuay Public Prosecutor Leonardo Amoroso stated that contrary to official
accounts claiming six prisoners died on February 20 in the prison by suicide,
a forensic report (indicating one prisoner whose liver had burst) suggested
the prisoners might have died as the result of torture, but he did not
speculate who may have been responsible for the deaths. As of October 27, an
inquiry request from human rights organizations to the Ombudsman’s Office on
the case was pending. Freedom House
Country Report 2018 Edition freedomhouse.org/country/ecuador/freedom-world/2018 [accessed 12 May
2020] F3. IS THERE PROTECTION FROM THE ILLEGITIMATE
USE OF PHYSICAL FORCE AND FREEDOM FROM WAR AND INSURGENCIES? Allegations of
police abuse of suspects and detainees continue. The prison system is
overcrowded, and some facilities lack basic amenities like potable water.
Prisoners risk ill-treatment and threats by guards, and violence at the hands
of other prisoners. Human
Rights Watch World Report 2015 - Events of 2014 Human Rights Watch,
29 January 2015 www.hrw.org/world-report/2015/...
or at
www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/wr2015_web.pdf [accessed 18 March
2015] ECUADOR DISPROPORTIONATE
CRIMINAL CHARGES AGAINST PROTESTERS - In April, three women protesting with
other mostly female demonstrators outside a prison in Quito against a
prisoner’s transfer were detained and charged under the sabotage and
terrorism provisions. According to a police report, the protesters had
“shouted ‘torturer’ at [the interior minister] and for this reason the
minister ordered the immediate detention of three citizens.” The three women
spent 18 days in prison before a prosecutor dropped the charges. Ecuadorian
Student Activists File Torture Charges against Police La Hora, Ecuador Inmediato, 16 Oct 2014 panampost.com/panam-staff/2014/10/16/ecuadorian-student-activists-file-torture-charges-against-police/ [accessed 21
November 2014] The parents of the
Ecuadorian student activists from the Mejía School
who were arrested during protests on September 18 have filed criminal
allegations of torture against police. They say police used excessive force
and abused the students while in custody. “I received blows
to my back and to my ribs. I was also pepper sprayed, and had water sprayed
on my face so that it would sting more,” said Jefferson Rueda, another of the
students who is alleging police abuse. “After that they brought me to the
detention center and made fun of our parents and mocked our school,” he
added. Conclusions
and recommendations of the Committee against Torture U.N. Convention
against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment -- Doc. CAT/C/ECU/CO/3
(2006) www1.umn.edu/humanrts/cat/observations/ecuador2006.html [accessed 27
February 2013] D. Principal
subjects of concern and recommendations 14. Although cruel,
inhuman or degrading punishment is prohibited under the State party’s
domestic legislation, the Committee expresses concern that the State party
has not brought the definition of the offence of torture in the Ecuadorian
Criminal Code fully into line with articles 1 to 4 of the Convention. The State party
should take the necessary measures to ensure that all the acts of torture
referred to in articles 1 to 4 of the Convention are considered offences
under domestic criminal law and that appropriate punishments are handed down
in each case, bearing in mind the serious nature of such offences. The
Committee also recommends that the bill on crimes against humanity, which
include torture, should be adopted as part of the process of implementing the
Rome Statute. 15. While the
Committee welcomes the adoption of the National Human Rights Plan and its
associated operational plans for different sectors, which were drawn up with
considerable input from civil society, it regrets that only one of the five
civil-society organizations that originally contributed to the plans is still
involved in the process of implementing them (art. 2). The State party
should promote the National Human Rights Plan by introducing effective
operational mechanisms that permit civil-society organizations to participate
in the implementation of the Plan. 16. The Committee
takes note with concern of the allegations that at least 70 per cent of the
prisoners in the Quito social rehabilitation centre
for women and men were subjected during their detention to the excessive and
unlawful use of force, including psychological and sexual torture, by criminal
justice officials and the police (arts. 2 and 7). The State party
should take steps to eliminate impunity for those suspected of torturing and
ill-treating these prisoners; conduct prompt, impartial and thorough
investigations; try and, where appropriate, punish those responsible for
torture and inhuman treatment with appropriate penalties; and properly
compensate the victims. It should also introduce training programmes
to resolve these problems. 17. The Committee is
concerned about allegations of torture and ill-treatment of members of
vulnerable groups, especially indigenous communities, sexual minorities and
women, even though these groups are protected by domestic law. These
allegations, which also concern the treatment of human rights defenders and
domestic violence, have not been adequately investigated (arts. 2 and 12). The State party
should ensure that allegations of torture and ill-treatment of members of
these groups are thoroughly investigated and those responsible brought to
trial. The State party should also build up and strengthen the system of
public defenders to protect these groups. 18. The Committee
notes with concern the slowness and delays in the processing of court cases.
In Pichincha alone, the Committee has learned, there are over 390,000 pending
cases. The State party should allocate resources to alleviate and eventually
eliminate the veritable “traffic jam” in the country’s judicial system, and
take steps to prevent such jams in the future. 19. The Committee
notes with concern the practice of detención en firme, under which the court
must, when issuing a committal order, order the detention of the accused
allegedly in order to ensure his or her presence at the trial and avoid
suspension of the proceedings (art. 2). The State party should foster
legislative improvements which will help to shorten periods of pretrial
detention, including removal of the concept of detención
en firme from the Code of
Criminal Procedure. An appeal on the grounds that this form of detention is
unconstitutional is awaiting consideration by the Constitutional Court, which
is to be appointed in the future. 20. The Committee
regrets the allegations that in deportation cases the rules of due process
are not fully complied with, and that the functioning of the machinery to
prevent individuals from being placed at risk through return to their
countries of origin is not fully guaranteed. It also regrets the inadequacy
of the machinery to enable the migration authorities to check whether an
individual runs the risk of torture by returning to his or her country of
origin (arts. 3 and 6). The State party
should adopt administrative measures in all the country’s police stations so
as to guarantee respect for due process during deportation, especially the
right to a defence, the presence of a diplomatic
agent from the detainee’s country and, in the case of refugees, the mandatory
presence of UNHCR personnel. The Committee also recommends the organization
of training programmes on international refugee law
with emphasis on the content and scope of the principle of non-refoulement for migration police officers and
administrative officials handling deportation procedures throughout the
country. 21. The Committee
notes with concern the allegations that a large number of prisoners have been
tortured while being held incommunicado. Some lawyers have claimed that they
are prevented from talking with their clients in the offices of the judicial
police, and even that visits to prisoners by independent private doctors have
been prevented. It is also alleged that victims have been denied access to
their own lawyers (arts. 4 and 6). The State party
should guarantee the application of fundamental legal safeguards applicable
to persons held by the police, ensuring their right to notify a family
member, the possibility of consulting a lawyer and a doctor of their choice,
the right to obtain information on their rights and, in the case of minors,
the right to the presence of their legal representatives during questioning. 22. The Committee
regrets that the State party has not yet instituted a programme
of training for judicial personnel, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, police
and prison staff, including medical, psychiatric and psychological personnel,
in the principles and rules for protection of human rights in the treatment
of prisoners, as called for by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in
its judgement of 7 September 2004. The State party should improve the quality
of and enhance the human rights training of State security forces and bodies,
and specifically concerning the requirements laid down by the Convention,
making use of the resources of civil society (universities, non-governmental
organizations, etc.). The State party should approve and rapidly put into
effect the national human rights plan for the armed forces. The State party
should also, in keeping with the judgement of the Inter-American Court of
Human Rights in the Tibi case, set up an
inter-agency committee to draw up and implement training programmes
in human rights and the treatment of prisoners. 23. The Committee
takes note with concern of the allegations that personnel of the security
services routinely inflict torture and other inhuman or degrading treatment
during criminal investigations in the offices of the judicial police (arts.
11 and 16). The State party
should ensure that the allegations of the excessive use of force during
criminal investigations are thoroughly investigated, and that those
responsible are brought to trial. The State party should ensure that
appropriate premises are available to accommodate those detained during the
investigation of an offence, with continuous supervision. 24. The Committee
deeply deplores the situation in detention centres,
and especially in social rehabilitation centres
where prisoners’ human rights are constantly violated. The overcrowding,
corruption and poor physical conditions prevailing in prisons, and especially
the lack of hygiene, proper food and appropriate medical care, constitute violations
of rights which are protected under the Convention (art. 11). The State party
should adopt effective measures, including approval of the budgetary funds
needed to improve physical conditions in detention centres,
reduce the current overcrowding and properly meet the fundamental needs of
all those deprived of their liberty, in particular through the presence of
independent and qualified medical personnel to carry out periodic
examinations of prisoners. The Committee also urges the sectoral subcommission on human rights in prisons to implement the
operative plan on this subject, whose objectives include action to follow-up
training courses and reports of human rights violations in the prison system
which have been lodged by individuals. 25. The Committee
reiterates its concern at the existence of military and police courts, whose
activities are not limited to trying offences committed in the course of
duty. This situation is not in keeping with the international treaties to
which Ecuador is a party (arts. 12 and 13). The State party should ensure
that the ordinary courts fully exercise their competence, in keeping with its
international obligations and the terms of transitional provision No. 26 of
the Constitution, so as to ensure the full independence of the judiciary.| 26. The Committee
regrets that the State party’s legislation does not provide for specific
machinery to provide compensation and/or reparation and rehabilitation for
victims of acts of torture (art. 14). The State party should establish a
specific regulatory framework to govern compensation for acts of torture, and
should devise and implement programmes of all-round
care and support for victims of torture. 27. The Committee
notes with satisfaction that the State party has taken part in amicable
international settlement processes, particularly within the inter-American
system, with a view to resolving complaints of human rights violations
(including torture). However, these processes have generally led only to
compensation for the victims, without proper investigation of the complaints
or punishment of those responsible (art. 14). The State party
should ensure that in cases of amicable settlement, in addition to
compensation, the responsibility of those who may have violated human rights
is properly investigated. Human Rights in
Ecuador Human Rights Watch [accessed 24 January
2013] Corruption, inefficiency,
and political influence have plagued the Ecuadorian judiciary for many years.
In a referendum held in 2011, President Rafael Correa obtained a popular
mandate for constitutional reforms that could significantly increase
government powers to constrain media and influence the appointment and
dismissal of judges. Ecuador’s laws
restrict freedom of expression, and government officials, including Correa,
use these laws against his critics. Those involved in protests marred by
violence may be prosecuted on inflated and inappropriate ‘terrorism’ charges. Impunity for police
abuses is widespread and perpetrators of murders often attributed to a
“settling of accounts” between criminal gangs are rarely prosecuted and
convicted. AMNESTY
INTERNATIONAL From an old article -- URL not available Article was
published sometime prior to 2015 IMPUNITY - The mandate of
the Truth Commission, set up in May 2007 to investigate human rights
violations committed since 1984, was extended. By the end of 2009, the Commission
had heard 700 testimonies relating to cases of torture, enforced
disappearance, extrajudicial execution and death in custody. Cases of torture
and extrajudicial executions remained unresolved. Victims and relatives
seeking justice and redress were threatened and intimidated. Police officer
Leidy Johanna Vélez Moreira and her family
continued to be subjected to a campaign of intimidation by the police which
began after she lodged a complaint about a police raid on her home in October
2007. The most recent incidents took place on 23 and 24 January 2009 when she
and her partner were followed by police officers. The Vélez
family has filed several complaints against the police, including one for the
torture and killing of Leidy Johanna Vélez
Moreira’s brothers, Yandry Javier Vélez Moreira and Juan Miguel Vélez
Cedeño, in Montecristi,
Manabí province, in December 2008. Search … AMNESTY
INTERNATIONAL For current
articles:: Search Amnesty
International Website www.amnesty.org/en/search/?q=ecuador+torture&ref=&year=&lang=en&adv=1&sort=relevance [accessed 31 December
2018] Scroll
Down ***
EARLIER EDITIONS OF SOME OF THE ABOVE *** Human
Rights Reports » 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61726.htm [accessed 24 January
2013] 2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61726.htm [accessed 3 July
2019] TORTURE
AND OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN, OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT – While the law prohibits
torture and similar forms of intimidation and punishment, some police
continued to torture and abuse suspects and prisoners, often with impunity. In November the UN
Committee Against Torture announced that the country's laws on torture do not
meet standards set within the UN's Convention Against Torture. The UN
reported that violators of human rights often were penalized with a fine,
rather than incarceration. Through December
CEDHU registered alleged cases of torture by security forces involving 24
victims. In most cases, the security forces appeared to have abused such
persons during investigations of ordinary street crime or because of a
personal grudge. The victims reported that the security forces beat them and
threatened them. On March 25, transit
police arrested and detained Roland Montoya Chavez for not carrying his
driver's license while driving. According to a credible nongovernmental
organization (NGO), police beat Montoya on March 25 and 26 in front of other
prisoners who signed a statement that they witnessed the abuse. Police
authorities detained officer Christian Duque for 24 hours as stipulated under
police regulations. Police academy
students accused police lieutenants Javier Proano
and Javier Torres of beating, insulting, and inflicting other physical injury
on up to 160 police academy students since March. Police authorities decided
the accusations against the two officers were false after an investigation in
which no students testified. Freedom House
Country Report - Political Rights: 3 Civil Liberties: 3 Status: Partly Free 2009 Edition www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2009/ecuador [accessed 24 January
2013] LONG URL
ç 2009 Country Reports begin on Page 21 [accessed 12 May
2020] A new criminal code
in 2001 replaced the existing civil law–based, inquisitorial system with
aspects of a common-law, adversarial system. However, judicial processes
remain slow; many inmates reach the time limit for pretrial detention while
their cases are still under investigation.The
number of inmates in the country’s overcrowded prisons is more than double
the intended capacity, and torture and ill-treatment of detainees and prisoners
remain widespread. In late 2008 the Ministry of Justice began to prepare an
overhaul of the criminal justice system, including the drafting of a new
criminal procedure code. U.S.
Library of Congress - Country Study 1991 Library of Congress Call
Number F3708 .E383 1991 www.loc.gov/collections/country-studies/?q=F3708+.E383+ [accessed 24 July
2017] INTERNAL SECURITY -
POLICE - STANDARDS OF POLICE CONDUCT – According to CEDHU, the police frequently
subjected detainees suspected of political infractions to violence in efforts
to extract confessions and information. Common-crime suspects also suffered
torture or maltreatment, especially in rural areas. CEDHU reported sixty-nine
cases of torture and eighty-nine cases of brutality in 1987 and a further
twenty cases of torture during the first half of 1988. CEDHU believed that
police abuse was more widespread than these statistics indicated since many
cases went unreported. In 1985 and 1986, five persons arrested by the police
or the military disappeared and were believed to have died in custody. No
disappearances had been recorded since 1986. According to CEDHU, forty
persons in 1986 and thirty-four in 1987 died while in police custody. Many of
these, including several of the ten AVC leaders killed by the police, were
believed to have been victims of extrajudicial executions. The United States
Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1987
noted that, although mistreatment of detainees was not officially sanctioned,
the government of Febres Cordero made no clear
statement condemning the use of excessive force, nor were penal actions taken
against police or military personnel believed to have taken part in deaths,
disappearances, or torture. Upon taking office in August 1988, the Borja
administration stated its unequivocal opposition to official use of abusive
measures. The Department of State reported that, although some police
abuse--including torture--occurred after Borja's inauguration, human rights
groups hoped that over time the new president's promises of respect for human
rights would have an impact on police behavior. All material
used herein reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107 for
noncommercial, nonprofit, and educational use. PLEASE RESPECT COPYRIGHTS OF COMPONENT
ARTICLES. Cite this
webpage as: Patt, Prof. Martin, "Torture by Police, Forced Disappearance
& Other Ill Treatment in the early years of the 21st Century-
Ecuador", http://gvnet.com/torture/Ecuador.htm, [accessed <date>] |
