Former Ecuador VP Glas to appeal judge's order to return to jail

QUITO (Reuters) - Ecuadorean former Vice President Jorge Glas will appeal a decision by a judge ordering him back to prison, his lawyer said on Thursday, saying that a return to jail would be dangerous.

Glas, convicted twice for corruption, last Friday asked Mexico for political asylum, arguing he is being persecuted by the attorney general's office in Ecuador.

The former vice president, who served under leftist ex-President Rafael Correa between 2013 and 2017, has been inside the Mexican Embassy in Quito as a "guest" since Dec. 17.

Glas' lawyer Edison Loiza submitted an appeal against the judge's ruling, which was also made on Thursday, arguing his client's life could be in danger.

Glas, 54, was sentenced to six years in prison in 2017 after he was found guilty of receiving bribes from Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht in exchange for awarding it government contracts.

He was given a separate eight-year prison sentence in 2020, as was Correa, for using money from contractors to finance campaigns for Correa's political movement.

Glas has been jailed and freed repeatedly. He was last released in November 2022 after completing five years of his sentences.

Though he can move freely within Ecuador, he cannot leave the country during the remainder of his sentences.

(Reporting by Yury Garcia; Writing by Oliver Griffin; Editing by Leslie Adler)