Nearly a sixth of Ecuador's prisoners held without sentence -census


FILE PHOTO: People gather outside the Penitenciaria del Litoral prison after a riot, in Guayaquil, Ecuador April 14, 2023. REUTERS/Vicente Gaibor del Pino/File Photo

QUITO (Reuters) - Nearly a sixth of the inmates in Ecuador's prisons have not been sentenced, a national census showed on Monday, as President Guillermo Lasso urged the judicial system to be speedier to help ease the burden on overcrowded jails.

Lasso, who will leave office later this year after bringing forward elections, told journalists the current prison population is 31,321 and that most inmates were arrested for drug trafficking, robbery or homicide.

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