Eleven Ecuadorean soldiers have been sentenced to 34 years in prison each after being found guilty of the forced disappearance of four boys last year. The discovery of the beaten and burned remains of the boys, aged between 11 and 15, shocked the violence-wracked nation.
The court found that a military patrol had picked up the boys as they returned from playing football in Guayaquil, forced them to strip, beat them, and left them naked in a desolate and dangerous location. One of the boys called his father, but by the time he arrived, they were no longer there. Their burned bodies were discovered days later near a military base.
A total of 17 soldiers were on trial over the disappearance of Nehemías Arboleda (15), Steven Medina (11), and brothers Ismael (15) and Josué Arroyo (14). Eleven soldiers were sentenced to 34 years and eight months, while five received reduced sentences for cooperating with the prosecution.
A lieutenant-colonel, who was not part of the patrol, was declared not guilty. The court noted that the soldiers were sent on patrol as part of a wider government crackdown on escalating criminal gang activities in the country. Originally, defense officials stated that the boys were detained as robbery suspects, but the judge ruled they were innocent victims of a state crime, requiring military personnel to undergo human rights training.
The judge emphasized that the evidence provided by cooperating soldiers illustrated the severity of the military's actions, deeming the boys' treatment as part of a cruel state operation designed to demean and harm, ultimately leading to their deaths.
The court found that a military patrol had picked up the boys as they returned from playing football in Guayaquil, forced them to strip, beat them, and left them naked in a desolate and dangerous location. One of the boys called his father, but by the time he arrived, they were no longer there. Their burned bodies were discovered days later near a military base.
A total of 17 soldiers were on trial over the disappearance of Nehemías Arboleda (15), Steven Medina (11), and brothers Ismael (15) and Josué Arroyo (14). Eleven soldiers were sentenced to 34 years and eight months, while five received reduced sentences for cooperating with the prosecution.
A lieutenant-colonel, who was not part of the patrol, was declared not guilty. The court noted that the soldiers were sent on patrol as part of a wider government crackdown on escalating criminal gang activities in the country. Originally, defense officials stated that the boys were detained as robbery suspects, but the judge ruled they were innocent victims of a state crime, requiring military personnel to undergo human rights training.
The judge emphasized that the evidence provided by cooperating soldiers illustrated the severity of the military's actions, deeming the boys' treatment as part of a cruel state operation designed to demean and harm, ultimately leading to their deaths.
