Martinelli loses extradition battle

Ex-president Ricardo Martinelli lost his final battle to avoid extradition to Panama, on Tuesday, Jan.23 when Judge Marcia Cooke, of the Court of the Southern District of Florida, endorsed the ruling of a previous judge.

He will return to face trial of illegal wiretapping of opposition politicians, critics, journalists and businessmen. He ia slo under investigation  in multiple corruption cases

He remains behind bars in Miami until Feb 6, when the judge will evaluate the granting of bail while the extradition process is underway. So far he has spent 225  days  in the Miami detention center

The prosecution has already announced that it opposes his release.

Sidney Sitton, attorney for Martinelli, said that his client will not appeal Judge Cooke’s decision reports La Prensa.

“I told him that when this ruling is over, we are not going to appeal anymore, we are going to Panama, win or lose”, Said Sitton.

According to the lawyer, the decision is not motivated by  Martinelli’s  humiliating defeat in the internal elections of Cambio Democrático, in which Martinelli lost the presidency of the party that he founded 20 years ago.

Martinelli appeared at the hearing in prison garb and with leg shackles. There were no family members in the courtroom.