Ecuador Criticized for Freezing Indigenous and Environmental Group Bank Accounts

Ecuador: crackdown on indigenous, environmental groups

The Ecuadoran government’s financial crimes agency froze the bank accounts of several indigenous and environmental groups, using secret intelligence information in an apparent effort to silence protests, Human Rights Watch said on Dec. 9. Juanita Goebertus, Americas director at Human Rights Watch, commented that the measures in question constitute a misuse of anti-money laundering mechanisms, which “should be used to fight crime and not environm…

Ecuador criticized for freezing indigenous and environmental group bank accounts

The Ecuadorian government’s financial agency froze indigenous and environmental groups’ bank accounts using secret intelligence information in an apparent effort to silence protests, Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday. Juanita Goebertus, Americas director at Human Rights Watch, commented that the measures in question constitute a misuse of anti-money laundering mechanisms, which “should be used to fight crime and not environmental groups.” The E…

Ecuador accused of using financial laws to silence indigenous and environmental groups

Human Rights Watch’s latest findings on Ecuador paint a troubling picture of a government increasingly willing to wield financial controls as political weapons. The freezing of bank accounts belonging to Indigenous and environmental groups-implemented without prior judicial oversight and based on intelligence reports that judges later ruled lacked evidence-marks a dangerous escalation in President Daniel Noboa’s confrontation with civil society.…