Supreme Court rejects latest Martinelli gambit

After a six-hour discussion, The Plenary of Panama’s  Supreme Court unanimously rejected the latest appeal, by  former President Ricardo Martinelli against the Judge of Guarantees, Jerónimo Mejía, leaving the road clear for his wiretapping hearing to continue with the prosecutor calling for a 21-year sentence.

Carlos Carrillo, attorney for Martinelli, alleged that in 2011 the National Assembly dismissed three lawsuits over illegal telephone interceptions. One of them to the detriment of Juan Jované, Alberto Guardia and others; another complaint filed by the then president of the Popular Party, Carlos Ernesto González, and a third brought by Luis Ernesto Carles (who served as Labor Minister 2009-2011).

In a hearing held on July 4, Judge Mejía decided that in order to be declared double jeopardy, there must be a final judgment or an order of dismissal, but this was not the case.

Prosecutor, Judge Harry Diaz specified that the version of the defense was not correct since for there to be a double trial it is necessary to combine three elements: the identity of the parties, the same fact and that the process has concluded in a judgment or dismissal. “None of these facts coincide with what the defense claims, only that it is the same person, Ricardo Martinelli,” said the prosecutor, who requested confirmation of Mejía’s decision.

The spokesman of the plaintiffs, Carlos Herrera, reinforced the prosecutor’s words regarding the procedural trilogy and asked the Plenary to reject the defense’s appeal and confirm the actions of the judge.

For the Plenary, the resolutions of the Commission of Credentials were not admitted and the denunciations were filed for lack of evidence. Coupled with this, do not match the facts in the folder 138-15 of the ex-president

The Plenary Assembly acted in the absence of Martinelli, who was again incapacitated  “But that was not an obstacle to the arrival of several patrols and lynxes that transported the detainee to the court to present the certificate that prolonged his incapacity,” reports La Estrella. Carillo told the media that it was a molar pain,  without specifying the ailment but La Estrella reports it was due to a suture for a cut from the extraction of a tooth. For  Supreme Court president Hernán De León it was not an excuse to suspend the hearing.

Delaying tactics
David Cuevas, attorney for the independent plaintiff Rosendo Rivera, recalled that two of the complaints filed in the Commission of Credentials were received on January 3, 2011, and were dismissed two days later. The third, against the Security Council, was presented in March 2013 and filed in April of the same year. “What investigation could the Commission have done in two days or a month?” Cuevas asked. The lawyer requested that the defense be called attention to delaying practices in the process.