Former National Judicial Council president Wilman Terán convicted of manipulating judge appointments

Former president of the National Judicial Council Wilman Terán was sentenced Monday to six years and eight months in prison for corruption in the so-called Pantalla case. According to a three-judge National Court of Justice panel, Terán attempted to influence the appointment of like-minded judges.

Former president of the National Judicial Council Wilman Terán

It is the third corruption conviction of Terán. He was previously convicted of organized crime and obstruction of justice in the Metastasis and Judicial Independence cases. In addition, he remains under investigation in the Vidrio Libre case for allegedly planning the “irregular and illegal” prison release of former vice president Jorge Glas.

In the Pantalla case, Wilman Terán was found guilty of attempting to manipulate the contest of judges for the National Court in 2023. During testimony, prosecutors proved that Terán provided answers to test questions to Anabel Torres, then a lower court judge in Santo Domingo, so she could pass a written exam in the selection process.

Prosecutors say other judge applicants received similar favors from Terán.

Torres is also being prosecuted but her trial was suspended because her whereabouts is unknown. Three other judge applicants were convicted earlier in the case but were given reduced sentences for testifying against Terán.

Prosecutors claimed that Terán “conferred frequently” about judicial appointments with former president Rafael Correa, for whom he once worked.

The court panel. made up of Judges Vinicio Rodríguez Mongón, Rodrigo Sarango and Judge Lauro Javier de la Cadena, concluded that Terán also used subordinates at the National Judicial Council to provide favored judge applicants advantages in the competition and personally pressured members of judicial selection committees.

In addition to his prison sentence, the judges fined Terán $5,640 and ordered him to pay reparations of $35,877.

In his earlier convictions, Terán was found to be “under the influence and control” of criminal organizations, responsible for releasing or reducing the sentences of at least eight prisoners. According to prosecutors, he was code-named ‘El Diablo’ by gang leaders.