Extradition request fails in Ecuador

Ecuador’s highest court has rejected an extradition request for a former police investigator from Belarus who has been jailed since June, and ordered him freed immediately.

Aliaksandr Barankov’s case drew attention after Ecuador granted asylum to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange this month.

Judge Carlos Ramirez of the National Court of Justice found the political refugee status granted to Mr Barankov justified.

Mr Barankov, 30, said he could be killed if sent back. He said he fled Belarus after uncovering an oil-smuggling ring involving government officials, including relatives of president Alexander Lukashenko.

“I’m happy. They saved my life!” Mr Barankov said by phone from prison yesterday.

Tuesday’s ruling was the second by Judge Ramirez rejecting an extradition request from Belarus. The first was in October last year, when he found the evidence presented “inadequate”.

Mr Barankov blamed his jailing on pressure from Belarus ahead of a June visit by Mr Lukashenko, who has been nicknamed “Europe’s last dictator”.

The extradition request under which he was jailed on 7 June accused him of fraud and extortion. His lawyer, Fernando Lara, said that, while he welcomed the ruling, it came “82 days late” because his client should never have been jailed.