Martinelli flees from den of thieves

IN HIS latest attempt to avoid or delay justice Panama’s former president Ricardo Martinelli on Thursday, June 21 announced his “irrevocable” resignation as a deputy of the Central American Parliament (Parlacen) that when running for president he had presciently labeled a den of thieves.

He now has charges waiting in the wings of robbing hundreds of millions of dollars from the people in whose shoes he claimed to stand

The move comes four days before the Supreme Court is due to hold the intermediate hearing to formulate the charges of illegal wiretapping and embezzlement with the prosecutor, Judge Harry Diaz asking for a 21- year jail term. while Martinelli continues to play the clown at court hearings with manacled hands held up in a victory salute to his band of supporters, a performance he avoided when appearing before US judges in Miami as he maneuvered to avoid extradition and return to his Coral Gables mansion.

It comes also after the two writs of ‘habeas corpus’ in favor of Martinelli were rejected by the court.

“I would not want anyone to violate my privacy”: Martinelli wrote  to the president of Parlacen, Tony Raful Tejada.

He also wrote to the interim president of the Court, Hernán De León, to inform him about his resignation and demand that the process be moved to the ordinary sphere.

The Foreign Ministry also announced Thursday that it had received a letter from the ex-ruler, but warned that before giving it a formality, it must meet several requirements.

Martinelli was sworn in as a Parlacen deputy on July 1, 2014, only 16 hours after he was left without immunity after leaving the Presidency, and fleeing the country.

The resignation letter has also gone to Judge Hernán De León, president of the Supreme Court of which asking  him to move  the jurisdiction of his case to the Sixteenth Criminal Court, that in  September will hold the ordinary hearing of Alejandro Garuz and Gustavo Pérez, two ex-directors of the National Security Council – which was chaired by Martinelli – for the alleged commission of crimes against the inviolability of secrecy and the right to privacy.

“I have taken the decision to resign from my parliamentary seat in Parlacen because, as everyone knows, I am suffering from a political process where I am in a state of defenselessness, which has been evident with the result of the Supreme Court of Justice not recognizing me I was detained by the USA [United States], by order of the Court, “Martinelli said in a letter to his relatives from El Renacer prison, where he  has been held since  his extradition from the United States on June 11, and after a failed attempt to convince the court of his ill health.

on Monday, June 25 Martinelli must face an intermediate hearing requested by prosecuting magistrate, Harry Diaz. In this act, the magistrate would formulate the accusation against Martinelli for the alleged commission of the crimes of inviolability of secrecy, and embezzlement.

Díaz will also ask the magistrate judge of guarantees, Jerónimo Mejía, to call Martinelli to the final oral hearing and asks a 21-year jail term.