It's been almost 1.5 years since I was first arrested, and it's been a while since I gave an update about my legal situation here in Ecuador, so I thought I'd summarize what has happened up until now, and what the current status is. 1/
On April 11th, 2019, I was illegally detained and later arrested at Quito airport. I was on my way to Japan for a martial arts training camp that had been planned since several months. 2/
During this detention I was held without access to my lawyer for 8 hours, and then arrested. During all this time I was held in areas that are not sanctioned or legal for detention. 3/
The actual arrest was done in Spanish without a translator present. I had no chance of understanding what was happening or what my rights were. 4/
After that I was once again held in places without access to lawyer or phone call, and away from proper arrest procedures. I was only booked in Flagrancia around 8am the morning after. 5/
On the evening of the 12th, a hearing was held where it was decided I was going to be put into preventative imprisonment. The primary evidence for this was the books found in my apartment, and the amount of technology I possessed. 6/
Books that were presented as evidence of my wrong-doing during the hearing including several books about computer security and privacy (which is my profession), books about the Panama Papers and so on. 7/
The day after, Saturday 13:th, I was sent to the El Inca detention center. I stayed in this prison for 68 days. From the time of my detention until I was released, no prosecutor or agent ever asked me any questions. 8/
But during all this time, the Interior Minister and the president repeatedly went public in media talking about me, claiming I had been hacking from the airport, and many other ridiculous stories. At no point was any evidence presented. 9/
And of course, none of these charges were ever put into the legal process. I was repeatedly accused, without evidence or any kind of fact of having done bad things, without any chance of defending myself. 10/
The president of Ecuador even went on TV and claimed that I had no training equipment with me, even though I was supposed to go to a training camp. However, the arrest papers clearly document all training equipment I had when arrested. 11/
During this time in prison, I was being charged with "attacking the integrity of computer systems". But during this whole time, the prosecution never specified what I was supposed to have done, and to what computer systems. 12/
In fact, the prosecution spent more time in hearings talking about my friendship with Julian Assange, than actually talking about what crime I was supposed to have committed. No evidence has ever been produced of this charge. 13/
Romo, in a witness statement from June 2019, actually said that I was arrested because they were worried I _would_ do something criminal, not because of something I had done. The president claimed he didn't know anything about my case. 14/
We filed an appeal against my preventative imprisonment, which was heard by a tribunal of judges on May 1st. This appeal was denied. The language in the resolution contained information that the prosecution had never mentioned... 15/
A few weeks later we applied for bail. In Ecuador, bail can _only_ be denied in 4 very specific cases - relating to if the crime has a sentence longer than 5 years, relates to violence against children or women, and so on. 16/
My case didn't fit any of the 4 criteria, so I should have been able to get bail. The judge denied the bail request, because she said she couldn't calculate the bail amount - because the prosecution hadn't said who the victims were!!! 17/
Finally, on June 20th, I was released from prison after a successful Habeas Corpus request. The tribunal confirmed that my arrest and imprisonment had been illegal and violated my rights in numerous ways. 18/
But this didn't stop the case. The Habeas Corpus tribunal imposed measures on me, that I have to keep fulfilling until the legal process is over. This includes not being able to leave the country, and that I have to present myself physically. 19/
The presentation means I have to go the prosecutors office every Friday and sign a paper. All my bank accounts and assets are also frozen. This has been going on for 18 months now, with no end in sight. 20/
By the end of July, the "instruction fiscal" - the investigate period during which time evidence can be added to the process - should have been over. In Ecuador, this has a time limit of 90 days. 21/
However, a day before the 90 days were over, the prosecution added a new person as a defendent to the process. They claimed - once again with no evidence - that a friend of mine had been involved in my actions - which still had not been specified in any way. 22/
The real reason for doing this is that when a person is added to a process, they can extend the process time from 90 to 120 days. The judge accepted this, and the investigation period continued. 23/
On the 29th of August, two days before the investigation period was over, the prosecution decided to change the charges against me. This time they are claiming I accessed a computer system without permission. 24/
The computer system in question belongs to CNT, one of the mobile phone providers in Ecuador. The prosecution has a photo they claim come from my mobile phone. This photo shows quite clearly someone _not_ actually trying to gain access to a system. 25/
Specifically, the photo shows text of something that looks to be a telnet connection done over Tor, but where the connection is interrupted when the system asks for a password. The prosecution claims this is evidence of breaking into a system. 26/
Changing the charge two days before the investigation period is over means that my defense had _two days_ to collect new evidence and defense material related to the new charge, something which is clearly an abuse of process. 27/
The next step in my process is what is called a "pretrial". At this hearing, the prosecution will present charges, and the judge will decide if the case should go to trial. In the hearing all evidence that will be presented at trial will also be decided. 28/
According to Ecuadorean law, the pretrial had to have happened maximum 15 days after the end of the instruction fiscal, which means sometime in mid September. However, now, more than a year later, we are still waiting for this hearing to happen. 29/
During the whole period since I was released from prison, I have been followed by police and intelligence services. Friends and family have been harassed in various ways. Because of all this, we have finally decided to submit a complaint. 30/
This complaint is called a Habeas Data, and is a constitutional guarantee. We are suing several highly placed people in order to get clarity on who has ordered this illegal surveillance of me. 31/
During these 18 months, there have been countless accusations in media against me. There have been hundreds of violations of my rights. And through it all, there still doesn't exist any evidence at all that I've done anything wrong. 32/
On Friday, October 30, 2020, will be the Habeas Data hearing, where some of this will be discussed. Wish me luck. 33/33
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