Anti-Corruption Commission files suit against ex-president Correa for ‘crimes against humanity’

Ecuador’s National Anti-Corruption Commission (CNA) has filed a law suit against former president Rafael Correa International Criminal Court in the Hague. The legal action accuses Correa of “crimes against humanity.”

Former president Rafael Correa

Chairman of the commission Jorge Rodríguez said the lawsuit was motivated by the former’s president’s mishandling of the national economy and “economic and moral disruption” for ten years. The suit further accuses Correa violations against free speech and assembly and for the arrests of journalists and political activists.

“He will have to answer for a crime against humanity before the International Criminal Court for all the assets that have disappeared and for those he as persecuted,” Rodríguez said.

Commission member Silvia Buendia also says the suit accuses Correa of denying access to justice to those who opposed the president’s policies. “There are citizens who were persecuted by the government’s misuse of authority, particularly the use of the court system to punish those who disagreed with the president,” she said.

Contacted in Brussels, where he currently lives, Correa called the charges “garbage” and said he would address them via social media.

The anti-corruption committee is made up of private citizens and is not part of the government.