QUITO: Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso announced Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) some 5,000 prisoners would be pardoned to reduce overcrowding in the country's prisons, which were hit with riots that left more than 320 inmates dead in 2021. 'I hope that at least 5,000 people deprived of their freedom will be released,' the president told reporters. He said he aimed 'to end overcrowding by the end of the year and thus have a much more favorable environment for security and for social rehabilitation inside the prisons.'
