Fears of Martinellis flight from justice

THE TARDINESS  of Panama’s justice system has raised fears that ex-president Ricardo Martinelli may flee before he faces justice and may never be charged for corruption.

Transparency International (TI) has applauded the decision to request his extradition that submitted by the Foreign Ministry to the United States Department of State this week.

“It shows that even former presidents can be summoned to respond for their acts,” the organization said.

But it also said that there is a concern that Martinelli could flee from prosecution due to the slow nature of the process.

“There is a very real risk that Martinelli will manage to circumvent the justice system, which has taken a year and a half to get to this point,” said TI President José Ugaz.

The organization also expressed concern that Martinelli will only face charges for illegal surveillance and not the acts of corruption of which he is also accused.

“Martinelli and his inner circle of contributors have allegedly stolen money through maneuvers of fraud in the tenders of public contracts,” said the agency in a statement. “From 2014, we have advocated that Martinelli be brought to justice.”

The document notes that there are some 200 corruption investigations being conducted into former officials of the Martinellli administration.