IACHR condemns Ecuador for the arbitrary dismissal of a military after he had denounced State’s Human Rights Violations.

On 16th August 2021, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights condemned the State of Ecuador for breaching out several articles of the American Convention on Human Rights in the case of Grijalva Bueno v. Ecuador. According to the Court, Vicente Aníbal Grijalva Bueno, a former member of the Ecuadorian Armed Forces, was improperly dismissed from the military forces after denouncing several Human Rights violations committed by other members of the military sector, including crimes of torture, other inhumane treatment and enforced disappearances. As part of its decision, the Court highlighted the importance of the State to secure freedom and safety for public officials to report gross Human Rights violations that occur at public institutions without being victims of threats, retaliations and other types of harassment. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights declared that the State of Ecuador was responsible for the violation of Judicial Guarantees (Articles 8(1), 8(2), 8(2)(b), 8(2)(c) and 8(2)(f)), freedom of expression (Article 13(1)) and Judicial Protection (Article 25(1) and 25(2)(c)), established in the American Convention on Human Rights. For further information, please visit: https://www.corteidh.or.cr/docs/comunicados/cp_55_2021_eng.pdf