Legal circles debate routes to get Martinelli to court

THE LEGAL team of ex-president Ricardo Martinelli has already made the first move in fighting the the arrest and extradition order issued on Friday March 11 claiming that they are at a procedural disadvantage because they have not been granted access to the relevant files.

Lawyers across Panama are debating the difficulties’ in enforcing the  order .

T he Foreign Ministry must find “the most efficient way ‘to enforce the request made guarantees Magistrate Jerome Mejia said lawyer Carlos Arauz.

He  explained that there are two options which can extradite the former leader.

The first is using Interpol  and  the Extradition Treaty between the United States and Panama and the second by a diplomatic alternative pathway between the two nations says El Siglo.

Lawyer Ernesto Cedeño said that the treaty does not provide for extradition for wiretapping , but stressed that Martinelli is indicated for other crimes-against the public administration

Both attorneys say  that whatever the method, the request to the United States will be subject to a process where Martinelli  will have rights, and legal commentators say Matrinelli has already hired a high powered US legal team

The defense plans  a complaint against Mejia in the Supreme Court for allegedly skipping procedural fairness.

Martinelli is in  self-imposed exile  in a luxury area of Miami.He left the country on January 28, 2015, and failed to appear at pre-trial hearings. In addition to wire-tapping charges he has been under investigation for links to multiple corruption cases.