Belgium grants asylum to Ecuadorian ex-president Correa, Ecuador requests his extradition

Belgium has granted refugee status to Ecuadorian ex-president Rafael Correa, the former head of state told the French news agency AFP on Friday. Correa confirmed the information provided by the Spanish news agency EFE.

AFP was also able to access a document from the Commissariat for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGRS) dated 15 April, confirming Correa's status. Correa was sentenced in absentia to eight years in prison for corruption in 2020. He moved to Belgium, the home country of his wife, after his term expired in 2017.

Ecuador has since asked Belgium to extradite its former president. Correa has to serve a prison sentence in his home country, the Ecuadorian court said in a statement. According to his lawyer Christophe Marchand, Belgium recognised Correa as being politically prosecuted, German news agency dpa reported on Saturday.

Correa was president of the South-American country for ten years. He was allegedly aware of bribes paid by construction companies to politicians and civil servants and was even indirectly responsible for the corruption network. Correa denied the accusations and points to his successors, who he says are waging a political campaign against him. 

(KOR)

Rafael Correa © ALFREDO ESTRELLA / AFP