Former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas denounced cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment in the prison where he is being held during a court hearing today, stating that these conditions have caused a deterioration in his health.

On Friday, the former deputy head of state appeared via teleconference from La Cárcel del Encuentro, in the province of Santa Elena, where he has been detained since November 10, during a habeas corpus hearing requested by his defense seeking his transfer to a hospital.

According to his attorney, Sonia Vera, the fact that authorities did not bring him physically to the hearing violates the “presence of the body” principle of habeas corpus, which allows a judge to exercise direct control over the real situation of a person deprived of liberty.

“Remote appearance is not the rule, but an exception that must be expressly justified by the State and be compatible with effective judicial oversight,” Vera noted.

During his statement, Glas asserted that his transfer to La Cárcel del Encuentro, which is still under construction, was part of a “media-political show,” and claimed that he has been subjected to degrading treatment that has worsened his health.

“We must dismantle the fallacy of medical care, which only consists of coming to take blood pressure and measure blood oxygen levels,” the former official added.

Among his ailments, he listed juvenile ankylosing spondylitis, hypertension, colitis, gastritis, chronic constipation, generalized anxiety disorder, and severe, deep depression, among other conditions.

He also stated that he is subjected to systematic psychological torture that includes industrial noise and verbal abuse.

Glas explained that an air extractor is turned on inside the facility, producing a sound similar to that of a factory, and remains active for up to 16 consecutive hours.

“My nerves are shattered,” he confessed, recounting that during early morning hours, prison guards bang on doors, shout insults, and force other inmates to shower at 3:00 a.m.

Meanwhile, Andrés Villegas, another of Glas’s attorneys, denounced the presence of an audio and video camera permanently installed inside his client’s cell, which he said violates privacy and contradicts international human rights standards.

Villegas warned that Glas’s continued detention under his current health conditions represents an imminent risk to his life.

Finally, Judge Jean Daniel Valverde, of the Criminal Judicial Unit of La Libertad in Santa Elena province, suspended the hearing, which will resume on Saturday, December 27, to ensure the appearance of representatives from the Ministry of Public Health.

“This matters because the precautionary measures ordered in the proceedings concern life, integrity, and health, and the Ministry of Health is an obligated party to respond and carry out actions (including hospital transfer if there is justified medical need),” Vera explained.

Glas, considered one of the symbols of judicial persecution or “lawfare” in Ecuador, remained at the Mexican Embassy in Quito from December 2023 until April 5, 2024.

On that date, police officers violently and without authorization entered the diplomatic mission and arrested him, despite the fact that he had been granted asylum by the then-government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador.