Former Vice President Glas of Ecuador evacuated from prison after assassination attempt, lawyer says – ThePrint – ReutersFeed

GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador (Reuters) – Ecuador’s former vice president, Jorge Glas, was evacuated from prison after an attempt on his life, his lawyer said on Sunday, blaming the government for the situation.

Sonia Gabriela Vera requested the intervention of the United Nations and other international organizations after what she called an “attempted assassination” of Glas in La Roca prison.

“Their emergency evacuation confirms what we have denounced time and time again: they are deliberately playing with their lives,” Vera added. “If something happens to him, it will be a state crime.”

Ecuador’s SNAI prison agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Glas was arrested in April after Ecuadorian security forces stormed the Mexican embassy in Quito, where he was taking refuge after requesting asylum.

While Glas’s supporters say the arrest is politically motivated, the former vice president has been convicted of corruption on two other occasions.

Glas also faces charges of embezzling funds raised to help rebuild the coastal province of Manabí after the devastating 2016 earthquake.

(Reporting by Yury García in Guayaquil; Editing by Drazen Jorgic and Chris Reese)

Disclaimer: This report is automatically generated from Reuters news service. ThePrint assumes no responsibility for its content.