Sebastián Yunda was arrested in Argentina, on December 1, as part of the preventive detention order in force in Ecuador for illicit association.
The president of the National Court of Justice (CNJ), Iván Saquicela, decided, on Wednesday afternoon, that it is appropriate the extradition request of Sebastián Yunda, son of the dismissed mayor Jorge Yunda and one of the eight prosecuted for the crime of illicit association, and formally requested Argentina to grant the extradition of the Ecuadorian, detained in Buenos Aires last December 1.
Saquicela, in the document that he sends to the Argentine justice authorities, highlights that last October 11, the criminal judge of Pichincha Máximo Ortega ordered that Sebastián Yunda, a musician Ecuadorian leader of the band 4AM, is arrested for allegedly being responsible of “organizing with other people to commit crimes.”
It is explained that after learning that Yunda was detained by the Argentine police, on December 7, the judge in the case asked the National Court to carry out the necessary procedures for him to be transferred to Ecuador.
The Ministry of Government assures that Sebastián Yunda was released in Argentina, but must meet certain requirements while his extradition is processed
With this formal request made by the president of the CNJ, the Argentine authorities were asked to hand over Sebastián Yunda, “so that he may be present at the trial against him.” In this case, the 120 days defined for the fiscal instruction stage are closed on January 3, 2022.
The eldest son of the dismissed mayor Yunda was detained by agents of Interpol (International Police, for its acronym in English) in Buenos Aires, last December 1, and two days later By order of the Argentine justice system, he was released, but under the fulfillment of certain obligations, while his extradition to Ecuador is being processed.
Yunda son must appear before the Buenos Aires justice authorities every seven days, he is prohibited from being absent for more than 48 hours from his home, without prior notice to the court, he is obliged to inform the court of any change of address and is prohibited leave Argentina. The figure of liberty was applied to him under “sworn bond”, that is, under the sworn promise of the detainee to faithfully comply with the conditions imposed.
The defense of Sebastián Yunda, Édgar Molina, hopes that the Argentine courts will show evidence the political persecution against his client for the mere fact of being the son of today’s former mayor Jorge Yunda. The lawyer clarified that the extradition process is a matter that is handled directly between the Courts of Justice of Argentina and Ecuador. In Argentina there would be a group of lawyers who work in the legal defense of Sebastián.
The former undersecretary of Foreign Relations, Carlos Estarellas, understands that if the authorities collaborate Argentines, Sebastián Yunda’s transfer to Ecuador should be quick. He does not believe that an asylum request could delay the transfer, since Yunda is not a politically persecuted person, but someone who is prosecuted for a common crime.
Sebastián Yunda, his uncle César Yunda, are criminally prosecuted for the crime of illicit association; Christian Hernández, former advisor to Jorge Yunda; the former head of the mayor Jorge Yunda’s office; Adrián Haro, former manager of the public company EMSeguridad; event organizer Pamela Novoa; businesswoman Nancy Gaibor and her husband, the former director of the Ecuadorian-China Chamber of Commerce Yinlong Wang.
Sebastián Yunda’s defense believes that there is political persecution against him; the National Court prepares the sending of the extradition request to Argentina
They are all being investigated for being part of a structure that had access to privileged information in the Municipality of Quito, while Sebastián Yunda’s father was mayor. With that information, they would have sought to obtain municipal contracts to receive economic benefits for contracts that would be related to the capital’s Municipality.
“The Prosecutor’s Office is aware that in Quito there is an organization where a person related to the mayor committed alleged criminal acts: influence peddling, illicit enrichment and embezzlement, with the alleged participation of public servants who find themselves in strategic positions with private sectors would contract with economic benefits, ”said Ortega in the explanation he gave of the case as part of the request for Sebastián Yunda to be extradited. (I)
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