scream out to be killed like a wrestling [cachacascán] fighter who strives in his show in a circus tent in a forgotten village. At this point, all the "evidence" to accuse the "coup plotters" has been unraveled: The Dictator recognizes that the bad idea of going to the Quito Regiment and entering by force was his. But then nobody could be prepared to kill him since nobody expected it. The Dictator swears that the former director of the Police Hospital closed the doors to prevent his entry. But then there was no plot there either because they did not even want to see his face. The bullets that killed the police officers disappeared, but not in the offices of Fidel Araujo but in an enclosure guarded by forces loyal to the dictatorship. To show that on September 30 he did not wear an armored vest, Araujo put one on in front of his judges and then put on the same shirt he was wearing that day. His accusers had to blush at the palpable demonstration that armored vests simply cannot be hidden. I could go on, but space does not allow it. However, since the Dictator understood that he must retreat with his ghost story, I offer him a way out: it is not the pardon that must be processed, but the amnesty in the National Assembly. Amnesty is not pardon, it is legal oblivion. It would imply, if it is resolved, that society came to the conclusion that on September 30 too many stupidities were committed, by both sides, and that it would be unfair to condemn some and reward others. Why could the Dictator propose the amnesty for the "pelucones" Gustavo Noboa and Alberto Dahik, but instead wants to pardon the "cholos" police? The Dictator should remember, finally, and this is very important, that with the pardon, in the future, a new president, perhaps his enemy, could take him to a criminal court for ordering fire at will and without warning against a hospital full of civilians and innocent people. Crimes against humanity, lest not forget, do not prescribe26. 2. The trial for insult 21. As a consequence of the article that has been transcribed, the then President Rafael Correa carried out a preparatory procedure before the Provincial Prosecutor's Office of Guayas to identify the author of the article. On February 28, 2011, the Prosecutor's Office request the director of El Universo to send in 48 hours the names and surnames of the author or those responsible for the entire content, as well as an original copy of the article27. 22. Subsequently, on March 21, then President Correa filed a lawsuit against Emilio Palacio Urrutia, Carlos Nicolás Pérez Lapentti, César Enrique Pérez Barriga, and Carlos Eduardo Pérez Barriga, for the criminal offense "serious slanderous insult to authority", as well as against the company El Universo. In the complaint, he mentioned his "authority" role and, therefore, requested the "maximum penalty" of three years in prison for each one. He also requested that the declaration of the monetary estimate of the damage be an amount not less than 50 million dollars. He also requested that the company El Universo be declared the author of the crime of slanderous insult and that the declaration of the monetary estimate of the damage be an amount not less than 30 million dollars28. 23. On May 3, 5, 9, and 26, of 2011, the defendants answered, and they argued the nullity and lack of jurisdiction of the court due to the impossibility of judging legal persons; the incompatibility of criminal norms that criminalize freedom of expression; the persecution through judicial measures with the purpose of censuring freedom of expression and the lack of responsibility of the directors of the media; as well as regarding the dual role of the complainant, both as president and as private citizen29. 24. On May 12, 2011, the secretariat of the Fifteenth Court of Criminal Guarantees of Guayas notified the parties of an order mentioning that the officials of the court were mistreated by the lawyers of Rafael Correa, who stated that they deserved a "Special treatment" for being representatives of the president. As a result of this order, on May 30, 2011 Correa's lawyers filed a criminal complaint against Judge Oswaldo Sierra, before the provincial prosecutor's office of Guayas for allegedly committing the crime of "denaturalization [of] the matter" in the drafting of the document. On May 17, 2011, the then head of the Fifteenth Court of Criminal Guarantees of Guayas, Oswaldo Sierra, was notified of a decision to suspend him in 26 Annex 4. Article No a las Mentiras. Annex No. 1 of the Initial Petition presented to the IACHR on October 24, 2011. 27 Annex 5. Correa's previous procedures. Annex No. 2 of the Initial Petition presented to the IACHR on October 24, 2011. 28 Annex 6. Complaint by Rafael Correa. Annex No. 3 of the Initial Petition presented to the IACHR on October 24, 2011. 29 Annex 7. Briefs to rebut the complaint. Annexes No. 4, 5, 6, and 9 of the Initial Petition presented to the IACHR on October 24, 2011. 6