Ecuador judge orders ex-president jailed over kidnap probe

Ecuadoran former President Rafael Correa, gestures during a interview with AFP in Havana, on April 20, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / ADALBERTO ROQUE

QUITO, Ecuador — A judge in Ecuador has ordered former President Rafael Correa jailed for failing to appear in court as required as part of a kidnapping probe.

The judge also approved a request by Ecuador’s chief prosecutor on Tuesday to seek Correa’s extradition from Belgium, where he currently resides.

Correa had been ordered to appear at a court in Ecuador’s capital every 15 days since early June to comply with an investigation into the case.

The nation’s highest court ordered in June that Correa be included in the investigation into a botched 2012 kidnapping of an opposition lawmaker.

Correa has previously said he has no idea why he is being linked to the probe.   /kga