Friends of government get Presidential pardons

CLOSE FRIENDS ofe the government and CD party faithful are among the second list of pardons signed by President Ricardo Martinelli and published in the Official Gazette on his last day in office.

The list includes Deputies Carlos Afu and Abraham Martine; former Secretary of State Communications Alfredo Prieto and Mario Kennedy township representative.
Also off the hook are Alfonso Zamora and Fernando Fernández of the Panama Avanza movement.. 
Others listed are Emilio Somoza, Vitellius Ortega, Mariela Vega, Rafael Berrocal, Sidney Sitton, Ariel Rosas Famanía.
The decrees granting the pardons were signed by Martinelli and Alma Cortés, in her capacity as Minister responsible for Government.
Cortés, who is leader of the Democratic Change party, was to be charged in her previous role as Minister of Labor and Workforce Development.
Other beneficiaries of the presidential pardon are Ameglio Francisco, Pamela Hall and Joseph Pretto Rowel, Javier Díaz, Mario Augusto Rodriguez and Noriel Castillo.
He also granted a reduction of sentence to Mohamed Samir Mohamed Ghattas and Iván Javier Villamonte.