Martinelli trial court said blocking evidence

Judge Roberto Tejeira excluded seven notebooks with confidential information from the victims of wiretaps as documentary evidence in the trial of former President Ricardo Martinelli for the alleged commission of the crimes of inviolability of secrecy and the right to privacy, and for embezzlement.

It is not logical that you admit as evidence a DVD, with information that reveals the data that was obtained illegally, but does not allow it to be opened in the trial,” said organized crime prosecutor  Ricaurte González , who is considering an appeal to the Supreme Court as the court made up  of three judges, two of them with close connections to the Martinelli administration continues to blkock prosecution moves.

On Wednesday the judge determined that the seven booklets can only be introduced as evidence in the trial, through the testimony of expert Luis Enrique Rivera Calle, head of Computing at the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences (Imelcf), who participated in the proceedings of ocular inspection made to the email  rad.pty507@gmail.com, which contains the intercepted  material of the victims.

 Judge Tejeira denied a request from the Public Ministry for the contents of the emails to be displayed at the hearing.

Prosecutor Ricaurte González announced that he will present an appeal of constitutional guarantees before the Supreme Court for what ich he considered “inconsistencies” in the performance of the trial court, which includes Tejeira, Arlene Caballero (judge rapporteur) and Raúl Vergara (third judge).

If the appeal is admitted, the oral trial would be suspended until the appeal is resolved.

“The trial court has adopted a strong position to block the evidence presented by the prosecution,” complained the prosecutor.