Panama’s top judge challenged to polygraph test

The TV interview given by,  the interim president of Panama’s Supreme Court in response to his confession of alleged blackmail relating to the wiretapping trial of Ricardo Martinelli left more questions than answers according to civil society

Carlos Lee, of the Citizens Alliance for Justice, told La Estrella that the magistrate “should have kept quiet” because his words show that he has no capacity to clarify conclusively the public accusations made by Attorney  Generall  Kenia Porcell who revealed details of a conversation with De León.

Porcell said De Leon told her that the ‘RM’ [Martinelli] case is tangled and “is going to fall”,  and  ”we are going to cancel” and that he had been recorded to exert pressure.

De León, said on TVN that he has no proof that there is a recording and that there is no pressure, extortion or blackmail to favor Ricardo Martinelli.

Porcell had announced that the magistrate told her that this case “was going to fall,” and it was going to be annulled : … “They recorded me, they recorded me,” he said repeatedly as if to indicate that he was a victim of blackmail Porcell said.

De León would not go into details of the conversation but made it clear that it is the word of one against that of another. “I do not know of recording, there is no recording, no pressure, no extortion or coercion” to favor the ex-president, he said in an exclusive interview on TVN.  But he has avoided answering questions from other media outlets.

Porcell quickly hit back and said:  “He is lying,”  and called for De Leon to submit to a polygraph test.

For Lee, the magistrate’s answers create greater confusion in the public mind and are far from clarifying the accusations of the attorney general, because he does not deny what happened, and it also leaves the Plenary of the Court wrong footed which must demand that its president clarify directly Porcell’s statements about him.

Dionisio Rodríguez, president of the National Bar Association, said that the presiding magistrate “spoke a lot and said little. There were many doubts about the prosecutor’s version.

The president of the guild of lawyers considers that, beyond the stones and arrows  of Porcell and De León, the administration of justice and the people suffer most  because the complaint that was filed to investigate an alleged crime of inviolability of secrecy could be closed because it was ”unfair” or because of the “lack of suitable  proof” because the victim has said that he has no knowledge of having been wiretapped.. In Rodríguez’s opinion, everything will remain as “a great legal squabble”.

Annette Planells. of the Independent Movement for Panama (Movin),  said there is total mistrust in the administration of justice. “There is too much turbidity around the Court …”

President Juan Carlos Varela, , said that the country has the ability to move forward on the proposal of business associations to create a citizen coalition to recover the country’s institutions from the crisis facing the administration of justice. “Everyone should be concerned about this area,” said  Varela “Panama has its own capacity to improve its Judicial System, Legislative and Executive Body … democracy has to keep moving forward and strengthening its institutions.”