The ex-police investigator will not be extradited to Belarus in accordance with the decision of the court.
The judge in Ecuador refused to extradite Aliaksandr Barankou, a former police investigator from Belarus who made public some cases of corruption among top Belarusian officials. His status of a political refugee was also extended, Euroradio says.
His case attracted international attention after founder of Wikileaks Julian Assange was granted a political asylum by Ecuador.
“I'm happy. They saved my life,” Barankou said by phone from jail, The Guardian writes.
Previously, he claimed he could be killed in his home country.
Barankou arrived in Ecuador in August 2009 after fleeing the charges, which he said were filed after he uncovered the smuggling ring. Belarus has been trying to extradite him ever since.
In 2010, when he overstayed his visa, he was imprisoned for 55 days but was freed after authorities granted him refugee status, finding merit in his claim of political persecution.
Belarus continued to press for his extradition, but Judge Carlos Ramirez of Ecuador's highest court, the National Court of Justice, denied it in October 2011, finding the evidence of Barankou's alleged crimes inadequate.
Then, on June 7, after a revised extradition request from Belarus, Barankou was arrested by 15 police officers who hauled him from his home in a middle-class neighborhood of northern Quito.
Later that month, Lukashenka visited Ecuador for two days, signing agreements on trade, education, agriculture and the eventual exchange of diplomats with President Rafael Correa. A preliminary defense cooperation agreement was also signed. Under Correa, Ecuador has been deepening commercial and political ties with U.S. rivals including Iran, Russia and China.
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