Paraguay's Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a preventive habeas corpus petition filed by the defense of former senator Erico Galeano, who was sentenced to 13 years in prison for an unspecified crime. The ruling, reported by Ultima Hora, states that any pretrial detention ordered by a competent court would not constitute illegal deprivation of liberty.
The court's decision was unanimous, with ministers Manuel Ramírez Candia, Carolina Llanes, and Luis María Benítez Riera signing the order. Galeano's lawyers, Luis Almada and Ricardo Estigarribia, had argued that their client faced an imminent threat of unlawful detention, citing his two-and-a-half years of freedom pending appeal. However, the justices noted that a trial court had already convicted Galeano and an appellate court confirmed the sentence, making the prosecution's request for detention legally sound.
Earlier in the day, Galeano's defense managed to suspend a scheduled hearing to review his pretrial status by filing a motion for reconsideration. The trial judges—Pablino Barreto, Juan Dávalos, and Inés Galarza—rejected that motion but allowed an ancillary appeal, meaning Galeano will not be jailed at least until the appeal is reviewed, likely after the weekend.
Speaking to reporters outside the courthouse, Galeano denied any connection to Uruguayan drug trafficker Sebastián Marset, who has been linked to Paraguayan football clubs. “There is no photo from the time of Sebastián Marset at Deportivo Capiatá with me. There won't be, because I wasn't at Deportivo during that period. I only know Marset from the press,” Galeano said, according to Ultima Hora. He also claimed he has been “legally and politically lynched” and that his arguments in court were systematically dismissed.
When asked who might be behind efforts to see him imprisoned, Galeano replied, “I don't know who is behind it, but there is pressure, there is pressure.” He defended his political legacy, citing infrastructure projects such as an emergency center at the Cancer Institute (Incan) and a maternal-child hospital in Areguá. He also criticized President Santiago Peña, saying the president “was wrong about the Zero Hunger program. He was wrong from here to the moon. He should have prioritized public health and education.”
The case continues to unfold as Galeano's legal team pursues further appeals.