Wiretapping defense throws up new blocks

The Ricardo Martinelli defense team continues to eat up the time of the Supreme Court   (CSJ) in a series of attempts to block the wiretapping hearing of their client, which could lead to sentences totaling 21 years.

Judge Angela Russo will be the rapporteur of a new protection of guarantees presented on Wednesday, July 25.

The defense alleges a violation of due process because supposedly the former president was investigated when he still maintained electoral jurisdiction [running for office through the CD party he founded]

The appeal attacks the decision made by the judge of guarantees, Jerónimo Mejía at a July 4 hearing that there was no violation of the electoral penal jurisdiction of Martinelli. Mejía explained that the prosecutor, Harry Díaz, fulfilled the terms that the plenary session of the Supreme Court(CSJ)  had that will initiate the investigation of the process after the  Electoral Court informed that it had given Martinelli its jurisdiction.

Martinelli’s defense also presented another protection of constitutional guarantees before the full CSJ to insist that Mejía does not have the competence of the process, as the former president had resigned as deputy of the Parlacen. This has magistrate Oydén Ortega as speaker.

In a ruling of July 11, the full CSJ did not admit an injunction with the same pretensions of the defense, because it did not comply with formal requirements. Judge Russo and the substitutes Efrén Tello and Asunción Alonso saved their vote after considering that the amparo complied with the requirements to be admitted.

Carlos Herrera Morán, lawyer of Doctor Mauro Zúñiga – a victim of the  wiretapping -, presented on Wednesday two   appeals against the  injunctions filed by Carlos Carrillo and Dimas Guevara, members of the Martinelli defense;

Herrera Morán asks the plenary of the CSJ to deny the amparos, as they lack legal support are not actionable and, in addition, were challenged extemporaneously.