Martinelli expands his fight for pound of flesh

Flanked by a pair of high priced Panama lawyers, and their followers,  ex-president Ricardo Martinelli on Tuesday, June 8  took another shot at getting his pound of flesh from former Supreme Court magistrate Jerónimo Mejía.

He filed a complaint for the alleged commission of the crimes of abuse of authority and overreach of functions and corruption of public servants with  the Prosecutor for Primary Care of the Public Ministry

Martinelli, in the company of his lawyers Alejandro Pérez and  Democratic Change stalwart Alma Cortés. removed his mandatory mask to make statements to the media.

The complaint indicates that it is because of Mejía’s “actions” as a judge of guarantees in the case called “punctures”, which the Court handled from 2015 to 2018, given that Martinelli had a deputy credential from the Central American Parliament (Parlacen).

Later, he resigned from that position and the Court lost jurisdiction of the case.

Last August, a three-judge court found Martinelli “not guilty” of the crimes of political espionage and embezzlement. The case is on appeal.

It is not the first time that the former president has launched it against Mejía, whom he has previously sued for $5 million. He has also filed charges against ex-magistrate Harry Díaz, the prosecutor in the espionage case.