Goleada Case: Court Withdraws and Postpones Aquiles Álvarez Preventive Detention Appeal Hearing
The appeal hearing for preventive detention of the Mayor of Guayaquil was suspended following a fresh withdrawal by the designated court.
Fresh Procedural Setback in Goleada Case Leaves Appeal Hearing Without Date
The appeal hearing for the preventive detention of the Mayor of Guayaquil, Aquiles Álvarez, and seven other persons charged in the Goleada case was postponed on Tuesday 22 September in Quito, according to expreso.ec. The court designated to hear the appeal ruled to withdraw itself, determining that it lacked jurisdiction to process the case.
The judges Mónica Bravo, Esteban Coronel and Mabel Tapia—assigned through a new draw following the elimination of the Anticorruption Unit—determined that a previous court had already assumed knowledge of the proceedings and previously convened the same appeal hearing. Consequently, the file was returned to the magistrates Wilson Lema, Patricio Vaca and Paúl Reina.
The hearing was intended to review the precautionary measure imposed against the eight accused, but it did not proceed to convene.
This new incident adds to a series of procedural setbacks that have marked the progress of the case. On 27 July, the judges Silvana Velasco, Wiler Choez and Byron Uzcátegui were suspended after having nullified the preventive detention of Álvarez and his brothers. That decision resulted in the formation of a new court to continue with the proceedings.
Withdrawals are not a new phenomenon within this file. Judge José Sebastián Cornejo, who initially had responsibility for the case, declared himself incompetent to continue with the trial preparatory hearing following the restructuring of judicial departments promoted by the Council of the Judiciary. A new draw then assigned the case to judge Ana Lucía Cevallos, who also withdrew and returned the file to Cornejo.
With these successive changes in jurisdiction and reassignments, the judicial processing of the Goleada case continues without a defined date for the reinstatement of the appeal hearing. The elimination of the Anticorruption Unit continues to affect the progress of several high-profile judicial proceedings in the country.
Source: Google News EC — Guayaquil