Quito, September 19 (Prensa Latina) Several cities in Ecuador were the scene of demonstrations today demanding justice for María Belén Bernal, a lawyer who disappeared a week ago and whose case is being investigated.
In Quito, the country’s capital, dozens of women gathered in front of the Pichincha prosecutor’s office in the city center and from there called for the open investigation to be speeded up to solve the incident.
Bernal was last seen on September 11 at Superior Police School, where her admission was registered to visit her husband, an officer who works at the facility.
Several feminist groups, including Women for Change, joined the rally.
Regarding what happened, one of the group’s spokespersons stated that the National Police and the state are responsible for what happened to Bernal as there are insufficient controls in the facility. The sit-in was also a space to demand public action from the national government aimed at curbing violence against women, femicide and gender inequality.
Ibarra, Loja, Cuenca, Guayaquil and Machala were other cities where sections of the population gather to demand justice for what happened to Bernal and for other cases of women reported missing or killed in violent crimes .
For his part, Interior Minister Patricio Carrillo reported the distancing of the uniformed men involved in the events surrounding the disappearance of the lawyer whose wife, Lieutenant Edgar Cáceres, is the prime suspect.
In the midst of the investigation, a habeas corpus suit was filed against the incumbent in the María Belén Bernal case.
jha/scm