On 14 June around 0:29 a.m., security forces detained Leónidas Iza, president of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador, in the province of Cotopaxi. He was held incommunicado and criminally charged with “blockage of public services”, before being released that night. His detention could have been arbitrary and the criminal proceedings against him could constitute criminalization of protest. Human rights organizations have made allegations of more arbitrary detentions, excessive use of force and criminalization against protesters. We urge President Lasso to stop stigmatizing, repressing and criminalizing peaceful protests, to disclose the whereabouts of and charges against all detainees, and to release those arbitrarily detained.
