Ecuadorian Authorities Raid Dissident Lawyer’s Home · Global Voices
Gina Yauri

[All links lead to Spanish language web pages, except when otherwise noted.]
On the morning of December 26, 2013, members of Ecuador’s elite police force (GIR) raided the home of Fernando Villavicencio following a court order from the Attorney General.
Villavicencio is a legal adviser to Clever Jiménez, an assembly member from the Pachakutik [en] party. Earlier in 2013, Jiménez and the activist, Carlos Figueroa, were sentenced to 18 months in prison for slander against the President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa. In 2011, the three men accused the head of state of having allegedly ordered the armed attack at the Hospital de la Policía (Police Hospital) during the September 2010 [en] uprising [en].
The operation at the home of Villavicencio -authorised by National Court judge Jorge Blum- lasted until 3:00 a.m. The district attorney’s office had been looking for information held on personal computers and cellphones, which were confiscated as part of an investigation into suspected espionage in relation to emails sent by high ranking government officials.
The investigation also involves the assembly member Clever Jiménez, whose office at the National Assembly was also raided. Jiménez had publicly admitted to possessing numerous emails from both the President and the Vice President, Jorge Glas, in relation to the Chevron case [en].
Social media has been inundated with reactions to the incident, including that of Alfredo Velazco (@alfredovelazco) who tweeted and commented on Facebook about the contradictions and double standards in the country:
#Ecuador da asilo a #Assange por publicar emails de funcionarios de #EEUU pero allanan casa de #Villavicencio… http://t.co/MTpzhXj6al
— Alfredo Velazco (@alfredovelazco) diciembre 27, 2013
#Ecuador gives asylum to #Assange for publishing emails by officials from #EEUU (USA) but raids home of #Villavicencio… http://t.co/MTpzhXj6al
Verónica Potes ‏(@veropotes) stressed that justice was not a game:
con el debido proceso no se juega, @Galo_Chiriboga @ppsesa, eso lo deberían saber como abogados q creo q alguna vez fueron #Villavicencio
— verónica potes (@veropotes) diciembre 29, 2013
You don’t mess with due process, @Galo_Chiriboga @ppsesa, you should know this having once been lawyers #Villavicencio
The film maker Carlos Andrés Vera (@Polificcion) considered the incident an abuse of power which will most likely be covered up by a media campaign against Villavicencio:
11.- Todo esto constituye un abuso más del Estado, que se tapará con una campaña infame contra Villavicencio en medios públicos y cadenas.
— Carlos Andrés Vera (@Polificcion) diciembre 27, 2013
11.- All of this constitutes yet another abuse by the state which will be covered up with a vile campaign against Villavicencio in the mainstream media.
Diana Amores Moreno (@Diana_Amores) tweeted an ironic comment about the National Secretary for Communication (SECOM) regarding the raid:
¡Buenos días Revolución de lobotomías televisivas! ¿Ya les dijo la SECOM que opinar sobre el atropello a #Villavicencio ? ¡Excelente!
— Diana Amores Moreno (@Diana_Amores) diciembre 30, 2013
Good morning Revolution of televisual lobotomies! Has SECOM already told you what to think about the attack on #Villavicencio? Excellent!
Plan V, a website dedicated to producing its own reports alongside contributions from established journalists from the Ecuadorian press, published the article “Cuando el terror llama a tu puerta…” (When terror knocks at your door…”). The article speaks about the experiences of Fernando Villavicencio, his wife Verónica and his two young children and has been shared on numerous social networks.
Pablo Jaramillo Viteri published the following photo on his Twitter account:
Diez agentes del GIR armados allanaron la casa de Fernando Villavicencio, por orden del juez nacional Jorge Blum pic.twitter.com/KJSh3HpXDL
— PabloJaramilloViteri (@JaramilloViteri) diciembre 27, 2013
Ten armed GIR officers have raided the home of Fernando Villavicencio, acting on orders from national judge Jorge Blum.
The President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, posted on his Facebook account and on Twitter (@MashiRafael) that there was a recording of the raid and that it would be made public in due course:
Hace meses hackeo de cuentas del Presidente y altos funcionarios. Investigaciones llevaron a Cléver Jiménez y su “asesor”, Fernando…
— Rafael Correa (@MashiRafael) diciembre 28, 2013
A few months ago, he hacked into accounts belonging to the President and other high ranking officials. Investigations were filed against Cléver Jiménez and his “adviser”, Fernando…
…Villavicencio. Con orden judicial se han hecho allanamientos. Descubrimientos sorprendentes. Tenemos todo filmado, así que no les…
— Rafael Correa (@MashiRafael) diciembre 28, 2013
…Villavicencio. The raids were carried out under court order. Surprising discoveries. We have it all filmed, so playing the…
…servirá de mucho victimizarse como de costumbre. Se han descubierto cosas realmente graves, que en su momento y de acuerdo al debido…
— Rafael Correa (@MashiRafael) diciembre 28, 2013
…victim as they tend to will not help them. Very serious things have been found. At the right time and in accordance with…
…proceso en su momento las sabrá el país. ¡Es terrible lo que ha estado haciendo esa gente!
— Rafael Correa (@MashiRafael) diciembre 28, 2013
…due process the country will know all about it. It's terrible what these guys have been up to!