The opposition is accusing President Rafael Correa of stepping up political persecution in the wake of the setback his party Alianza País (AP) suffered in municipal elections on 23 February. On 17 March Judge Lucy Blacio ratified her original ruling from September 2013 sentencing Cléver Jiménez, the leader of the indigenous movement Pachakutik, and the journalist Fernando Villavicencio to 18 months in prison, and trade unionist Carlos Figueroa to six months in jail, for defamation; she also ordered them all to apologise publicly and pay Correa US$140,000. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) requested that the Ecuadorean State adopt precautionary measures to suspend the ruling but this was rejected by Ecuador’s foreign minister, Ricardo Patiño, who said the supranational body was exceeding its jurisdiction.End of preview - This article contains approximately 892 words.
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