Correa could deny Belarus blogger's extradition

Ecuador's President Rafael Correa said he could have the last word on the extradition of a dissident blogger and former soldier from Belarus now before the country's high court. Alexander Barankov, a former army captain, fled to Ecuador in 2009 after being charged with fraud, allegations he says were trumped up after he blogged about widespread corruption linked to people close to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, often referred to as "Europe's last dictator." Ecuador granted him asylum in 2010 after he argued that he faced the death penalty for treason in Belarus, but imprisoned him for 52 days later that year after an extradition request from Minsk that was eventually rejected. "Ecuador will put the emphasis on not extraditing a citizen whose life is at risk, from facing the death penalty or life in prison," Deputy Foreign Minister Marco Albuja said. Correa said that if the high court, which is due to issue a ruling in the coming days, decides to grant the extradition request from Belarus, he could overrule that decision "as a last resort." "We reject any attack on human rights (or) political persecution," Correa told foreign reporters. Ecuador's much-criticized record on press freedom has come under renewed scrutiny following its decision to grant asylum to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, holed up at its London embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden. Barankov, 30, is wanted by Interpol for fraud. He has been detained for 70 days pending the court decision. His lawyer Fernando Lara told AFP that the Lukashenko regime is out to silence Barankov -- a former member of a military anti-corruption investigation team -- after he uncovered illicit activities embarrassing top officials. The European Union and the United States have accused Belarus of detaining dissidents and committing other human rights abuses, and tightened sanctions in the wake of a disputed election in December 2010 that handed another term to Lukashenko, in power since 1994. The Barankov case re-emerged following a visit by Lukashenko to Ecuador in June, when he signed several military and other accords with Correa, a leftist leader who has moved to strengthen ties with US foes. The reopening of the Barankov case comes at a time of tensions with Britain over Assange, who is wanted for questioning in Sweden over sexual assault allegations but fears being sent on to the United States for prosecution. Correa insisted that Ecuador was "open to dialogue" with Britain and Sweden over Assange, expressing hope for renewed contacts between senior officials. Washington has viewed WikiLeaks as a threat to its national security following the release of a trove of leaked diplomatic cables and military logs from Iraq and Afghanistan. Ecuador's support for Assange -- who presents himself as a whistleblower and the victim of a US "witch hunt" -- has drawn attention to Correa's long-running feud with the country's own private media. Rights groups and press freedom organizations have roundly criticized Correa for targeting opposition media with libel suits, accusing Ecuador of having one of the worst records on press freedom in Latin America.