Justice delayed in high profile cases
FOR JUSTICE to be seen to be done Panama, residents need time and patience. At least 10 high profile research hearings have been suspended in recent months.
There is a raft of different reasons ranging from courts failing to notify all lawyers of the accused; defendants presenting appeals that the courts must resolve; alleged health problems, or the transfer of the accused who are provisionally detained not carried out, reports La Prensa.
One of the cases is the wire tapping of 150 opposition politicians, journalists, lawyers and businessmen during the Martinelli administration.
The file is in the Sixteenth Criminal Court and the hearing was postponed last month
It was scheduled for April 3, but, after opening the process, the judge Enrique Pérez, reported that the lawyer of Alejandro Garuz, one of the investigated, stated that he could not appear
Also under investigation in the case, is Gustavo Pérez, who formerly served as secretary of the National Security Council (CSN), as did Garuz.
The diligence will now take place between August 7 and 18.
The Thirteenth Criminal Court did not conduct the hearing of the call center case scheduled for April 17, because the Second High Court has two appeals pending resolution presented by two defendants.
In this case, the Second Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office requested the appeal of the alleged offense of embezzlement of Martinelli spokesman Luis Eduardo Camacho González, and, María Cristina González, former Immigration Minister, and three other people hey are charged with using government resources as a call center for the CD party.
Meanwhile, in May 2016, the Thirteenth Criminal Court suspended the Case of businessman Mayer Mizrachi and the former director of the PAN Eduardo Jaén, because Mizrachi, who had been detained in Colombia Interpol, was facing an extradition process to Panama.
Mizrachi is accused of not complying with the delivery of a $211,850 technological platform to the AIG.
A new hearing is set for May 29 and 30.
The Thirteenth Criminal Court did not hold the preliminary hearing of alleged anomalies in the granting of the $9 million loan made by the Caja de Ahorros (CA) to the HPC Contratas P & V consortium to build the Amador Convention Center.
The hearing was for Mar. 27-29, but was postponed because the judge Alina Hubiedo, was rejected by the defense and the file passed to the fourteenth criminal judge.
It was postponed again on April 11, because the Fourteenth Criminal Court has pending resolution of a number of appeals filed by several of the accused.
In this case Riccardo Francolini, former chairman of the Board of Directors of the CA, is accused, along with ex-directors Ricardo Chanis, Anastacio Ruiz De Leon and Fernando Correa, and former manager, Jayson Pastor and his deputy Rodrigo Arosemena,
The Tonosi affair
The hearing of the failed Tonosi irrigation project process was scheduled for November 14, 2016, but Felipe Pipi Virzi, one of the 33 accused, changed lawyers so the Fourteenth Criminal Court set a new date for July 10.
The hearing process for alleged irregularities in the purchase of software brand SAP, for the Social Security (CSS)involving former director of the AIG Eduardo Jaén the former director of Social Security Guillermo SáezLlorens, entrepreneur Aaron Mizrachi, and 14 other people has not been made due to appeals filed by the defendants’ lawyers.
The same happened in the case of the former administrator of the Tourism Authority Salomón Shamah, which is in the hands of the 12th Criminal Court.
the Seventh Criminal Court has twice postponed the hearing of the loss of wiretapping equipment acquired by the last government.
