“Toothache latest Martinelli ailment

From a high blood pressure “crisis” on Monday, July 6 to a toothache on  Wednesday, ex-president Ricardo Martinelli and his lawyers continue to try to stall his hearings in Panama’s Supreme Court.

On Monday evening, shortly after prosecuting judge Harry Dias had spent an hour reading Martinelli’s wiretapping and embezzlement indictment, he was transferred from his cell in El Renacer Prison, to the more comfortable surroundings of Hospital Santo Tomas to occupy one of the chronically scarce  emergency beds where he rested for 48 hours while awaiting examination by doctors from the Forensic Health Center as ordered by Judge of Guarantees, Jeronimo Mejia.

On Thursday, lawyer Carlos Carrillo said  that Martinelli had  a disability that could extend  his hospital stay  for 24 hours, already warned by Judge Mejia about delaying tactics, insisted that his client  must be present at the hearing that was to be held at 2:00 p.m  with the plenary of the Supreme Court to decide a recourse of double judgment.

Carlos Herrera Moran, the complainant, pointed out that “all this is part of a dilatory measure of the defense. You’re going to realize what we’re going to debate are two legally absurd things.”

The plenary hearing went ahead without Martinelli.

Díaz explained that the facts presented by Martinelli’s defense were not investigated in the National Assembly and that those files were archived.

The lawyer Carlos Herrera Morán, who spoke for the complainants, reminded the defense that there cannot be a double judgment in this case because there is no previous sentence.

Lawyer David Cuevas, autonomous complainant, recalled that the magistrates have called Martinelli’s lawyers for the abusive use of defense.

On  Wednesday, July 11, the Plenary, in extraordinary session, did not admit an injunction of constitutional guarantees presented by the defense of the former president against a decision of Mejía, in which he ruled  he would still have the competence to handle  the process even though Martinelli had resigned from the Central American Parliament (Parlacen).