By Patrick Vanderpool
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

QUITO, Ecuador – An Ecuadorian judge has ordered the release of  José Acacho, Pedro Mashiant and Fidel Karinas, all of whom are indigenous leaders and who were arrested on February 1, 2011 on charges of terrorism and sabotage. The charges stem from the three indigenous leaders’ actions in instigating a protest in 2009 where one person died. Judge María Cristina Narváez of the Pichincha court accepted a writ of habeas corpus on behalf of the three leaders, which forces their immediate release.

Three hundred protestors met the release with jubilation when they heard the decision, chanting “libertad” in front Quito’s Corte Provincial de Justicia of Pichincha. Inside the courtroom, the decision was met with equal joy and tears by major indigenous leaders of Ecuador, who filled the courtroom.

Judge Narváez determined that the imprisonment of three leaders was “illegal and arbitrary.” Following the court’s decision, Acacho, the leader of the Shuar Indians, stressed the importance that justice will be independent and not subject to interference by the Executive.

The International Federation for Human Rights, the Ecumenical Commission for Human Rights, the Regional Human Rights Advisory Foundation, and the Centre for Economic and Social Rights have all expressed concern for growing criminalization against social protest of indigenous communities in Ecuador. These indigenous Ecuadorians are becoming increasingly mobilized in defiance of large scale mining activities on their territories.

The three charged individuals were charged for their roles in a protest, when confrontations between demonstrators protesting against a new water law and the national police ended with the death of Shuar Professor Bosco Wismua. The charges of sabotage and terrorism against the three men still stand.

The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador, along with other indigenous governmental organizations of Ecuador, intend to present a proposal of amnesty for all imprisoned indigenous leaders to the national assembly.

For more information, please see:

Pacific Free Press – Ecuador Using Terrorism Law to Target Indigenous and Environmental Activists – 13 February 2011

IFEX – Authorities Release Former Radio Director Accused of Terrorism and Sabotage – 11 February 2011

Latin American Herald Tribune – Ecuador Court Frees 3 Indigenous Leaders Jailed on Terrorism Charges – 11 February 2011