The brothers Josué and Ismael Arroyo, as well as Saúl Arboleda and Steven Medina, between 11 and 15 years old, disappeared on December 8 in Guayaquil where witnesses saw that uniformed men took them away in a van.

The Minister of Defense, Gian Carlo Loffredo, confirmed that the children were detained by the military, who, according to Loffredo, finally left them in the area of ​​Taura, about 30 kilometers from Guayaquil, where one of the main bases of the Ecuadorian Air Force (FAE) is located. However, the relatives rejected this version, considering it an attempt at justification.

The hearing will decide whether to grant a habeas corpus in favor of the parents of the four missing teenagers, who are asking that this case be officially recognized as a forced disappearance, a violation of human rights.

This decision would force the State “to provide an immediate, satisfactory and convincing explanation of what happened to the victim,” according to the Permanent Committee for the Defense of Human Rights. This organization accompanies the children’s families in the process.

Officials from the Armed Forces, National Police, Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Defense, and Ombudsman’s Office are summoned to appear on Tuesday.

Dozens of people held sit-ins in Quito and Guayaquil to demand answers in the case. “They were taken alive, we want them alive,” said signs and slogans of those present at the sit-ins in both Ecuadorian cities.

The families of the four children denounced “intimidating actions” by the Police and the eventual attempt by the Executive to interfere in the investigation.

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