Martinelli sons one step closer to exradition

A ruling of  Panama’s  Supreme Court has moved the extradition process of the  fugitive sons of former president Ricardo Martinelli authorities a step closer to implementation.

The brothers  Ricardo Alberto and Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares are being investigated by the Anti-Corruption Special Prosecutor bribes paid by Odebrecht.

The action of the prosecution “was developed in strict adherence to the respect of human rights and fundamental guarantees of the parties,” says the judgment of the Court, which denied an injunction presented by the defense to invalidate the extradition process, arguing, hat their clients human rights had been violated.

On December 26, 2017, the prosecution requested the Foreign Ministry to process the extradition. Recently, the Foreign Ministry reported that the process remains in force reports La Prensa.

They  are being prosecutedfor money laundering. According to the prosecution, they would have received at least $53 million of the bribes paid by Odebrecht and bank accounts containing over $22 million in Switzerland and Andorra have been seized along with a helicopter and a luxury apartment in Madrid.

On May 5, they were elected as alternate deputies of the Central American Parliament (Parlacen) but their mother arrived at the Electoral Tribunal with a power of attorney, withdrawing their seats.

The Supreme Court of ruled that the Special Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office, which investigates the bribes paid by Odebrecht in Panama, acted “in strict adherence to the respect of human rights” when it requested the extradition of Ricardo Alberto and Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares, to investigate them as part of this process.

The ruling of the Court, with a presentation by Judge Efrén Tello, resolves an Amparo of constitutional guarantees filed by lawyer Luis Eduardo Camacho González on behalf of the brothers.

 The lawyer argued that at the time the prosecution requested the extradition of his clients (on December 26, 2017) he had no competence because the term had expired to investigate the case.

In addition, Camacho González alleged that at that time his clients had electoral criminal jurisdiction. The extradition process “places our representatives before serious harm,” argued the lawyer, who, claiming that the brothers Martinelli Linares were violated fundamental guarantees and human rights.

In the ruling, Tello said that, by claiming that the prosecution had no competence to continue the process, the Martinelli Linares lawyer failed to prove “any violation” of the fundamental rights of its clients.

With regard to the electoral criminal jurisdiction, he said  that at the time of the request for extradition, the Martinelli Linares did not have that shell.

Therefore, he concluded that the children of former President Martinelli “have not been violated fundamental rights.” And denied the protection of guarantees.

Panama as asked Interpol to issue a red alert for the capture of the brothers Martinelli Linares for the Odebrecht case and for  the country’s judicial authorities manage their extradition through the Foreign Ministry.

Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares is also being tried – and his extradition has been requested – for the Blue Apple case related to the alleged payment of bribes by state contractors.

Both were detained in Miami, on November 20, 2018, as immigration authorities in that country reported that their visas were revoked in 2017 and that they had been “illegally” in that nation since then. The two were in the Krome detention center for more than 15 ays, where a judge granted them $1 million each  in release bonds.

The Foreign Ministry recently reported that the extradition process remains. Meanwhile, the secretary general of the Public Ministry, Rolando Rodríguez, confirmed that the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office keeps red alert requests to Interpol.

The two brothers were elected as alternate deputies to the Central American Parliament on May 5.