MADRID 4 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in South America has demanded justice and urged the Government of Ecuador to investigate the case of the four minors found burned last week after disappearing during an Army military operation in the Las Malvinas neighborhood (Quito) and prosecute those responsible.
“The investigation of this very serious crime must be independent, without political pressure and exhaustive, addressing the possible responsibilities of the command. At the same time, the re-victimization of families must be avoided at all times,” the representative of OHCHR in South America, Jan Jarab.
The UN has expressed its “dismay” at the identification of the bodies of the minors and has emphatically condemned the events. In this way, Jarab has stressed that “this fatal event must mark a turning point in the way of conducting public security policy in the country.”
Thus, the Office has insisted that forced disappearance must be investigated, punished and prosecuted quickly, emphasizing that the crime does not end with the discovery of the bodies.
Likewise, it has requested an independent investigation and that the Government implement measures to prevent the repetition of these events.
On Tuesday, December 19, four charred bodies were found near the Army air base in Taura, 30 kilometers from Guayaquil. The Prosecutor’s Office has reported in a statement that, based on forensic results, the remains correspond to the bodies of the four missing minors.
The Ecuadorian Justice has issued preventive detention for the 16 soldiers for alleged forced disappearance under article 84 of the Penal Code. The Prosecutor’s Office has relied on testimonies from family members and witnesses, reports from forensic experts and investigators, as well as physical evidence such as the telephone numbers of the defendants.
The Permanent Committee for the Defense of Human Rights of Ecuador (CDH) mourned the death of both the brothers Ismael and Josué Arroyo, ages 15 and 14, and their friends, Nehemías Arboleda and Steven Medina, ages 15 and 11, respectively, who were “arbitrarily” detained by the military.
The case has once again called into question the militarization of the State by President Daniel Noboa, who decreed a state of internal armed conflict in January 2024 to combat organized crime. Since then, the Army has been involved in at least ten disappearances.