Attorney General denies political persecution

ATTORNEY GENERAL Ana Belfon has denied that she is using her office to persecute the leadership of the opposition PRD.
 "We didn't do more than fulfill a constitutional obligation, it is not any kind of political persecution," she said Wednesday, June 26.

She has been questioned by PRD official Javier Martí¬nez Acha about investigations involving members of the party..Belfon said that she will answer the request within a period of 30 days, as stipulated by law.

On the charges of the alleged persecution of members of the PRD, the prosecutor said that she is simply following the law. She added that her office does not pursue people based on political beliefs, but rather it has a responsibility to investigate crimes.
Earlier President Ricardo Martinelli had hinted by Twitter that there would be revelations about PRD presidential candidate, Juan Carlos Navarro who served two terms as Mayor of Panama.
Navarro has publicly promised to bring corruptees in the current administration to justice.
Belfon said that since she was appointed AG, she has become a prosecutor for the country and not of a political party." She said that her record demonstrates her independence.
Before the declarations of Belfon, Martí¬nez Acha said that the prosecutor is biased because she was a legal advisor to the president.

Minister of the Presidency Roberto Henríquez branded the persecution comments as "horseplay" and a "circus."

He said the PRD electoral strategy "is to make themselves the poor victims."
According to Henriquez, the opposition party has a poor strategy for the election, which also involves bringing up the subject of presidential re-election.
"The reality is that their candidate, Juan Carlos Navarro, has been trying for 15 years to be president, and he is still not in a good position," the minister said.
He said that CD candidate José Domingo Arias has not even started campaigning yet and is already even with Navarro in the polls. (A recent poll put Navarro in the lead, followed by Arias with Panamenista candidate Juan Carlos Varela in third.