Ecuador judge frees five held over attack on President Noboa’s convoy, lawyer says

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By Alexandra Valencia

QUITO (Reuters) -An Ecuadorean judge on Wednesday ordered the release of five people who had been detained the day before after stones were thrown at President Daniel Noboa’s convoy, according to a lawyer in the case.

The judge ruled that their detention had been illegal and in violation of due process, defense lawyer Yaku Perez told Reuters.

The government had accused the five of attempted murder and terrorism, though the prosecutor’s office changed the charges to “resistance” at the Wednesday hearing, according to Perez.

While the judge ordered them released, the prosecutor’s office said it will continue its investigation.

“The state once again demonstrates its excessive use of force, contrary to the constitutional rule of rights and justice,” Perez said.

Noboa’s office and the police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to Perez, four of the detained were land defenders, while his client is an artist.

Noboa escaped injury while traveling through a rural town on Tuesday after his convoy was attacked by protesters with rocks, cracking windows as the vehicles sped by.

The government has called the incident an assassination attempt, while Indigenous groups who launched the roadblock blamed the government for violence breaking out, claiming the police and military attacked protestors. 

Indigenous and other groups have been protesting since last month after Noboa ended a subsidy on consumer diesel prices. The protests have since spread, leading Noboa to declare a state of emergency in several of the country’s provinces. 

(Reporting by Alexandra Valencia; Writing by Kylie Madry; Editing by Alexander Villegas)