Martinelli loses extradition appeal

LAWYERS  for ex-president Ricardo Martinelli who has been flaunting his invitation to the Donald J Trump inauguration on Jan 20, have lost another round in their ongoing fight to prevent his extradition from the U.S.

The Supreme Court has rejected an application from his defense team  for annulment of the resolution requesting his extradition issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

In a ruling dated Dec. 19 and made public on Tuesday Jan, 10, the court concluded that the Chancellery did not violate Martinelli’s human rights in issuing the resolution.

The court emphasized that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the conduit between the Panamanian jurisdictional authority and the foreign state, in this case the United States.

It explained the state receiving the request is responsible for assessing the extradition order.

On July 26, the Panamanian Foreign Ministry received Martinelli’s extradition request from the

Supreme Court, but it was not until Sept. 27 that it forwarded the request to the U.S.

Martinelli’s attorneys have said that their client resides in Miami. He fled  Panama in January 2015