OPINION: Cloudy Panama Justice

Hoyporhoy La Prensa July 26

THE COURT has recognized the complex nature of the investigations carried out by thePublic Ministry that relate to the payment of bribes by the Brazilian company Odebrecht to Panamanian and foreign officials and individuals. In fact, ths court  has admitted to numerous offshore companies and banks in several countries, which is why it agreed to grant an extension until this investigation is exhausted, in order that the prosecutors can carry out all the procedures necessary to clarify the facts and make the wrongdoers pay . However, the judge in charge of issuing the ruling has established a limitation for these investigations, which although it is legal, has ignited even more alarms about the already questioned investigation. It orders that if applying a precautionary measure of preventive detention to any of the 17 investigated, the prosecution will have to complete    the interrogation in  not more than two months. Discretionary decisions like this make us as a society question what could be the real motivations behind the judgments issued by the Judiciary. We demand transparency.