and First air technician Sergeant Patricio Estuardo Caizapanta Diaz, who had agreed to deliver some kind
of equipment in exchange for a considerable sum of money. Based on that information, and after notifying
the aforementioned Military Criminal Proceedings Judge, said authority issued a writ on January 20 (...) as
a pre-trial measure ordering the detention on remand of citizen Gonzalo Orlando Cortez Espinoza, and
issuing the arrest warrant to that effect (...). Pursuant to Article 25 of the Military Code of Criminal
Procedure, the pre-trial detention of the accused is hereby ordered (...) In the case of military in active
service, detention will be in the Division Barracks, while retired Sergeant Cortez Espinoza Gonzalo Orlando
and engineer Juan José Guevara Ruiz shall be detained in the Men's Detention Center in Quito, to which end
the constitutionally required arrest warrants shall be issued.8
20. The Commission notes that the case file for the military proceedings does not contain the arrest warrant
of January 20, 1997, mentioned in the Military Criminal Court's resolution.
21. On March 24, 1997, the Military Criminal Court of the First Air Division issued a writ to the Director of
Intelligence of the Ecuadorian Armed Forces instructing him to execute the order referring to the pre-trial
detention of Mr. Cortez. The Court indicated that "this writ shall serve the same effects as the constitutionally
required arrest warrant."9
22. Two days later, the Court issued writs relating to Mr. Cortez's situation to the following institutions: 1)
Superintendency of Banks of Ecuador, ordering the retention and blocking of funds; ii) the National Directorate
for Immigration and Matters relating to Foreign Nationals, with a view to prohibiting departure from the
country; and iii) the Private Property Registries in the districts of Cuenca, Ambato, Guayaquil, and Quito with a
view to banning the sale or disposal of real estate assets.10
23. The petitioner maintained that Mr. Cortez was detained on July 11, 1997 by 11 armed agents of the
Ecuadorian Air Force Intelligence Service.11 In his statement on July 30, 1997 as an accused during preliminary
inquiries, Mr. Cortes stated that:
I have been detained in this unit under orders of the judge since Friday, July 11, 1997, when I was detained
and brought by a group of members of the Intelligence Service of this Division. Captain Salazar of the
Intelligence Service told me that I was being brought for further investigations. On the night of the following
(...) day I was taken to the bedroom or cell where I am being held, without ever having been told or notified
that there was a warrant for my arrest, or of the reason why, even today when I have been called to testify.
Specifically ( I would like to point out), not all the clothes I was wearing or documents I was carrying when
I was arrested have been returned, in full or at the same time, by the Department of Intelligence (...).12
24. In the statement he gave at the First Notarial Office in Quito, Mr. Cortez gave a more detailed description
of the circumstances of his detention:
While I was heading for the land terminal in Quito, 11 military intelligence personnel armed with
submachine guns detained me and took me to the First Air Division, where I was taken to a cell that had
formerly been used as a dormitory for non-commissioned officers and was known as Villa Avión. Also
detained in that cell was a Compañía Ecuatoriana de Aviación employee. I was put there, too, and held
incommunicado for 19 days. During that time they did not let me sleep as guards kicked the door of the cell
all night. The food they gave me had frequently been spat out and I wasn't even allowed to speak to the
Military Criminal Court of the First Air Division. Order to open military criminal proceedings, Resolution N° 03/-97 of March 19, 1997.
Pages 26 to 27 of the 03-07 Judicial case file of the military criminal proceedings. Attached to the petition of March 29, 2000.
9 Military Criminal Court of the First Air Division. Writ 047-CM-2-0-97 in military criminal proceedings N° 03/-97 of March 24, 1997. Page
28 of the 03-07 Judicial case file of the military criminal proceedings. Attached to the petition of March 29, 2000.
10 Military Criminal Court of the First Air Division. Writ 052-CM-2-0-97 in military criminal proceedings N° 03/-97 of March 26, 1997.
Page 31 of the 03-07 Judicial case file of the military criminal proceedings. Attached to the petition of March 29, 2000. Military Criminal
Court of the First Air Division. Writ 053-CM-2-0-97 in military criminal proceedings N° 03/-97 of March 26, 1997. Page 32 of the 03-07
Judicial case file of the military criminal proceedings. Attached to the petition of March 29, 2000. Military Criminal Court of the First Air
Division. Writs 054-CM-2-0-97, 055-CM-2-0-97, 057-CM-2-0-97, and 058-CM-2-0-97of military criminal proceeding 03-97 of March
26,1997. Pages 33 to 37 of the 03-07 Judicial case file of the military criminal proceedings. Attached to the petition of March 29, 2000.
11 Initial petition.
12 Military Criminal Court of the First Air Division. Preliminary inquiries statement by Mr. Cortez in military criminal proceedings 03-97 of
July 30, 1997. Pages 123 to 125 of the 03-07 Judicial case file of the military criminal proceedings. Attached to the petition of March 29,
2000.
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