Ecuador Launches Historic Trial for Crimes Against Humanity
Ecuador Launches Historic Trial for Crimes Against Humanity
Published 8 November 2015 (8 hours 51 minutes ago)
In the first trial for crimes against humanity in the country's history, Ecuador seeks justice for victims of the 1980s political repression and rights abuses.
Ecuadorean victims and their families may finally see justice for historical crimes against humanity after almost three decades of impunity protecting the perpetrators.
Ecuador will launch its first ever trial for crimes against humanity on Monday against five former military generals and colonels for alleged crimes committed between 1985 and 1988 under the right-wing government of then President Leon Febres Cordero.
The case deals with human rights abuses committed against three former members of the revolutionary guerrilla movement Alfaro Vive Carajo, a revolutionary guerrilla movement that operated in Ecuador between 1982 and 1991. Former military officials will face trial for rights violations committed against Alfaro Vive Carajo members Luis Vaca, Susana Cajas, and Javier Jarrin between 1985 and 1988.
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Although Ecuador returned to civilian rule after years of military dictatorship in 1979, the so-called transition to democracy did not ensure human rights were respected. Under Febres Cordero from 1984 to 1988, arbitrary detentions, torture, extrajudicial killings, and forced disappearances, as suffered by members of Alfaro Vive Carajo, were widespread.
More:
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Ecuador-Launches-Historic-Trial-for-Crimes-Against-Humanity-20151108-0004.html