AI is concerned that “confessions” obtained under torture may be used in the forthcoming trial of seven people accused of involvement in the killing, in December 1993, of 11 members of the Ecuadorian security forces. A court document made available to the defence and and signed by the Pichincha state prosecutor, indicates that members of the Ecuadorian army “were responsible for the torture of the accused”. The accused, six Colombians and one Ecuadorian, have claimed that they were forced under torture to “confess” to involvement in the killings. For a court to admit evidence obtained throught torture or ill-treatment contravenes several international human rights agreements which Ecuador has ratified.
