A British man died in Ecuador after he was dragged out of a police station and lynched by a mob, local media reported.
The man, whose identity wasn’t disclosed, was in custody at a police station in the riverside village of Playas del Cuyabeno, a tourist entry point to the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve, when a mob broke in, dragged him out to the street, killed him, and set him on fire.
He was reportedly suspected of involvement in a fatal shooting.
The mob set the man on fire right outside the police station at around 12.30pm on 20 April, causing his death, in what local news outlet Extra described as a “shocking act of apparent community justice”.
A police report identified the victim only as an “English national”.
Police confirmed the man had been arrested early in the morning on 20 April. He had been “intercepted and beaten by local residents” who accused him of fatally shooting a local person.
Police took him to the station for his own safety while waiting for specialist units to transfer him to Lago Agrio, around 120km away.
According to Extra, the specialist units were “slow to arrive due to the geographical conditions of the area” despite “advance warning of the risk to the detainee”.
Nearly six hours after the arrest, a mob of local villagers reportedly forced their way into the police station. Police officers at the station chose not to intervene lest the mob harmed them or damaged state property, allowing them to take the man, the outlet said.
Another Ecuadorian media outlet, Ecuavisa, reported that the mob took the man at around 12.30pm local time and lit him on fire outside the police station. He died of the burns a few hours later.
The British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office was reported to be investigating the reports and collaborating with local authorities to verify the man’s identity. The Independent has reached out to the FCDO for comment.