QUITO 4 Jul (ANA) - A court in Ecuador ordered the arrest of former president Rafael Correa on Tuesday over his alleged involvement in the 2012 kidnapping of an opponent.

 

Mr Correa, who now lives in his wife's native Belgium, denies the allegations.

 

Judge Daniella Camacho said she has alerted Interpol in a bid to have the 55-year-old extradited.

 

Former lawmaker Fernando Balda was briefly kidnapped in Bogotá, Colombia, where he fled during escalating tensions with Mr Correa.

 

He accuses the then-president, who led the Andean nation between 2007 and 2017, of masterminding the abduction.

 

At the time, Mr Balda faced charges in relation to a failed 2010 coup against Mr Correa, and he was later sentenced to one year in jail for endangering state security.

 

On Tuesday, the judge said Mr Correa had failed to comply with an order to appear in court in Quito to assist with an investigation into the kidnapping claims.

 

The ex-president instead presented himself to the Ecuadorean consulate in Brussels, which the judge said was a violation of her orders.(ANA)

FA/ANA/4 July 2018------