Judge, pressured to resign for disobeying orders files complaint

A PANAMA JUDGE who says he was pressured to resign for “not following instructions” in a case involving La Prensa, has filed a complaint against three Supreme Court Judges and Tourism Authority Administrator Salomón Shamah.

Fourth Criminal Circuit Judge Alexis Ballesteros, through his lawyer Alberto Reyes, presented the complaint ton Wednesday afternoon. March against Supreme Court Chief Justice José Ayú Prado and fellow judges Secundino Mendieta and Wilfredo Sáenz for pressuring him to resign.

The complaint, presented to the National Assembly, also includes Shamah, a close confident of President Ricardo Martinelli.
Ballesteros said that he was asked for his resignation for "not following instructions" from his superiors in a draft ruling involving employees of the company Transcaribe Trading, S. A. who blocked the entrances to La Prensa newspaper in August 2012.
The lawyer said that Second Criminal Court Deputy Magistrate Secundino Mendieta asked for the resignation after Ballesteros failed to follow orders regarding the case.
The complaint was filed against Ayu Prado, Mendieta, Saenz and Shamah because they supposedly exerted pressure on Ballesteros to rule a certain way on some cases.
While Ballesteros was removed from his post, he remains on the bench because he has appealed the decision says La Prensa.