July 3 Update: Lawsuit Ruled Malicious, and other news

resumen mas adelante
Latest from Intag:
Ascendant’s new name; Copper Mesa Mining Corp
Lawsuit against Carlos Zorrilla declared illegal and malicious;
The Constitutional Tribunal rules- too late- in favor of Ascendant.
Upcoming lawsuit in Canada

Ascendant’s new name
In the past couple of years, Ascendant Copper Corporation’s shares have lost approximately 95% of their value, so it was only a matter of time before they would try to change their name, which is what they announced on June 27th (a decision apparently taken by a tiny percentage of its shareholders- most of them company officers). The proposed new name is Copper Mesa Mining Corp. The company is waiting for regulatory approval.
(http://www.canadanewswire.ca/en/releases/archive/June2008/27/c8603.html.

If they are dreaming the name-change will help “clean up their image” and to make it harder to link the company to its dark past here in Ecuador, or for its officers to avoid criminal lawsuits in Canada, they indeed are dreaming.

Lawsuit declared malicious.
On July of 2006, Leslie Brooke Chaplin, a US citizen, accused Carlos Zorrilla of theft, assault and other made up things, during a completely peaceful public event, and in which hundreds of anti-mining protesters participated (and which was also filmed and monitored by police). The false charges led to arrest and search warrants and a police raid on Mr. Zorrilla’s home, violating a surprising number of laws and basic human rights.

The 19 heavily armed police failed to find Carlos, but did leave behind a gun and a probable drug substance meant to further incriminate him in other criminal lawsuits (which, indeed, resulted in another arrest warrant). On July 3rd of this year, the judge overseeing the case finally ruled that the charges WERE MALICIOUS AND RECKLESS.

This is the legal definition of malicious lawsuit: involving malice; characterized by wicked or mischievous motives or intentions.
“An act done maliciously is one that is wrongful and performed willfully or intentionally, and without legal justification”.

In other words, made up to cause harm; false without legal grounds.

The ruling opens the way for Mr. Zorrilla to sue for libel and damages and to open a full-scale investigation to identify the company and/or individuals responsible for the orchestration and funding of this travesty of justice.

This, by the way, is the same lawsuit in which Chaplin’s lawyer says he never met Leslie Brooke Chaplin and that his signature was forged on all the legal documents presented in the case. The lawyer is suing Chaplin for the equivalent of identity theft- an extremely serious criminal offense in Ecuador.

Constitutional Court rules- too late- in favor of Ascendant.
DECOIN recently found out the constitutional court threw out the case presented last year by the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum against Ascendant’s mining concessions in Intag. However, the ruling will not, in the least, affect Ascendant’s loss of its concessions under the resolutions taken by the National Assembly in April of this year, which annulled 88% of Ecuador’s mining concessions. We believe that Ascendant and its subsidiaries will lose all of its concessions in the country.

And, stay tuned for some earth-shaking news related to an upcoming lawsuit in Canada.

Resumen: El juez penal sentenciO que la demanda presentada por Leslie Brooke Chaplin en Julio del 2006 por robo en contra de Carlos Zorrilla fue maliciosa y temeraria, abriendo el camino a que Carlos enjuicie penalmente a Chaplin y se pueda realizar una investigacion para dar con los responsables reales del montaje judicial en contra de Carlos.

Mientras tanto, Ascedandt Copper esta tramitando un cambio de nombre a Copper Mesa Mining Company, despues de que sus acciones habrían perdido cerca del 95% de su valor inicial en los ultimos años…

Y, el Tribunal Constitucional sentenciO que la demanda de inconstitucionalidad presentada por el Ministerio de Minas y Petróleo el año pasado en contra de las concesiones mineras de Ascendant en Intag no procede- una resolución muy tardía, ya que la empresa perdiO sus concesiones en Abril de este anio por via del Mandato Minero, el mismo que anulO el 88% de las concesiones en el país.