The facts as presented by the author
2.1. The author states that she became a member of the illegal opposition
party Partido Roldosista Ecuatoriano (PRE) in Santo Domingo in April
1995, but underlines that she had been an active supporter since 1985.
According to the author, she was arrested on 28 May 1994 after having
distributed political propaganda material. She was first held in detention for
three days, when she was allegedly ill-treated by being pulled by the hair,
beaten and threatened every three hours. The author further states that she
was given a six-months probationary sentence, during which she was
deprived of her papers, including her passport, and her civil and political
rights as an Ecuadorian national.
2.2 The author alleges that she was again detained on 13 December 1995,
after having organized and participated in a unauthorized political
demonstration of about 200 persons. According to the author, she was kept
in detention for 10 days and allegedly starved, kicked and beaten with
truncheons before she being sentenced to 10 days' imprisonment. To support
her statement, the author refers to copies of medical records from the
medical doctor she visited after her release.
2.3 On 26 April 1996, the author was appointed political leader for a
women's group of the party. Her main tasks were to organize meetings for
women, particularly from poor neighbourhoods, and inform them about their
rights. She also provided assistance to families where one or both parents
had disappeared.
2.4 The author's fiancé, who was also active in PRE, allegedly disappeared
in 1996 after having been taken away by police in plain clothes.
2.5 According to the author, she was again detained on 27 January 1997 for
having participated in a political demonstration in Santo Domingo. The
author was allegedly sentenced to six months' imprisonment and claims that
during her imprisonment she was starved, electric chocks were applied to
her fingers and she was raped. After her release, the author contacted a
doctor, but no medical records are available. The author further states that,
while she was in prison in 1997, her home was broken into and everything
was taken, and that she has reason to believe that the police were
responsible.
2.6 The author states that at the time of her release she was told by the
police to leave the country. However, instead, she joined her family in the
mountains, where they had fled to prevent the author's children being taken
by the authorities. While in hiding, the author learned from her sister that a
warrant for her arrest had been issued because she had not left the party and