Former military member Julio Rogelio Viteri Ungaretti asked the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (CourtHR) for sentencing against the State of Ecuador for retaliation which, he assures, he was the victim of for denouncing acts of corruption from high command. Army in 2001.

Viteri Ungaretti’s trial against Ecuador, at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, took place this Monday, March 20, 2023.

“The only thing we want as a family is to restore our honor and dignity, to continue to live our lives on our land, to work with our community. I wanted and had to be admitted and returned to the institution because I work very hard to reach the level that I reached”, said Viteri during persistence.

The case of Viteri Ungaretti

Julio Rogelio Viteri Ungaretti worked as naval attache at the Ecuadorian embassy in the UK when in November 2001 he denounced corruption by the Army High Command before ambassadors, relating to aircraft insurance contracts, as well as irregularities in leasing the headquarters where he worked.

The lawsuit against the State shows that after filing a complaint, Viteri was arrested, released from office Subsequently, he and his family began receiving threats, pressure and harassment, which forced them to apply for asylum in the United Kingdom.

The man points out that this situation ended his military careerbecause he was knocked out of the promotion list, and it also had an impact on his life project with his family.

Reporter Protection

Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), Pedro Vaca, explained at trial that this case would allow the Inter-American Court of Human Rights “developing whistleblower protection standards” from corruption cases.

Vaca stated that in this case there was “severe institutional reprisal against a member of the armed forces and his family.” as a result of a complaint he made of acts of corruption.”

Representatives of the IACHR confirmed that in August 2002 the Constitutional Court of Ecuador concluded that administrative sanctions applied without procedural guarantees, but does not represent any other type of violation.

For the IACHR, the entity filing a complaint with the Inter-American Court, the The state of Ecuador must be held accountable for violation:

• Free to move and live.

National Defense

Representative of the State of Ecuador, María Fernanda Álvarez, confirmed that Julio Rogelio Viteri Ungaretti did not violates his right to freedom of expression, because he was able to expose the facts of corruption before various judicial and political institutions such as the Congress, and the existing ones sanctions against high command were condemned by former military.

Regarding the arrest Viteri is facing, state agents assured that “the constitutional court issued a sentence stating a violation of rights and ordered the arrest to be removed from the resume.”

Representatives of the country argued that Viteri did not file a complaint about the threats he received, that opportunities for promotion in a military career were restored and the termination of functions at the Ecuadorian embassy in the United Kingdom “It’s not a penalty.”

procedure

Following Monday’s hearing, the parties have one month to present their final written arguments and from then on the Inter-American Court can issue judgments in the following months.