Ecuador judge rejects extradition request for Belarusian, orders him freed immediately

Source: Associated Press via Washington Post

Updated: Tuesday, August 28, 8:10 PM

QUITO, Ecuador — A judge on Ecuador’s highest court rejected on Tuesday an extradition request for a former police investigator from Belarus who has been jailed since June, and ordered him freed immediately ...

Judge Carlos Ramirez of the National Court of Justice found the political refugee status granted Barankov to be justified, according to a court official who sent The Associated Press the judge’s order. The official was not authorized to be identified by name.

The 30-year-old Barankov had argued he could be killed if sent back to his former Soviet bloc homeland, whose president, Alexander Lukashenko, has been nicknamed “Europe’s last dictator.”

Barankov says he fled Belarus after uncovering an oil-smuggling ring involving senior government officials including relatives of Lukashenko ...

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