Supporters wait for Glas’ release as controversy swirls around judge who granted the habeas corpus

Although release orders for former vice president Jorge Glas and another inmate have been delivered to the prison administration at the Unit 4 of the Quito Penitentiary, there was no indication Tuesday afternoon when or if the release would occur.

Edison Loaiza, attorney for former Vice President Jorge Glas, spoke with guards at the Quito prison Tuesday morning.

At 3:30, Glas’ attorney Edison Loaiza expressed anger that prison officials were not providing information about the former vice president’s status. “It is inexcusable that he [Glas] has not yet walked free,” Loaiza said. “This is a legal order based on a constitutional standard that cannot be ignored.”

In response to comments Monday night by President Guillermo Lasso that the government would not allow Glas to go free until an appeal of the habeas corpus is heard, Loaiza said the decision was not Lasso’s to make. “He does not have the authority to defy a court order, that’s why we have separation of powers.”

Meanwhile, the National Judicial Council has filed a complaint against Banny Molina, the judge who granted habeas corpus to Glas and Daniel Salcedo for overstepping his authority. “He issued the order outside his jurisdiction and did not provide notice to the state’s representatives that this action was being considered.”

Molina is a judge of penitentiary guarantees unit in Portoviejo while Glas and Salcedo are imprisoned in Quito. Molina based the habeas corpus on Glas’ and Salcedo’s poor health.

In addition, the Judicial Council continues to pursue a 2018 case against Molina involving his decision to allow a man sentenced to two years in prison for embezzlement to serve his term under house arrest.