Former president feeling pressures of sons’ arrest

The judge of guarantees Kenia Marín recused herself on Monday, July 13, from hearing a case that allegedly involved former President Ricardo Martinelli with irregularities in the granting of a loan from the  State Savings Bank (CA) to the original contractor of the convention center in Amador.

The judge considered that she had no jurisdiction in the process since previously the case was handled under the inquisitorial system and asked Martinelli’s defense to present the case before other judges.

The Public Ministry (MP) was represented by the prosecutor Azucena Del Rosario Aizpurúa.

“We will make the corresponding evaluations every time that within the portfolio we do have a pronouncement from the plenary of the Supreme Court that sets the jurisdiction of the accusatory criminal system,” said the prosecutor.

The Martinelli defense requested the hearing of “infringement of rights” in the case of the CA, claims that this and other cases that allegedly link to his client be closed.

“This means that all the investigations carried out by the MP in the case of Ricardo Martinelli and the CA have to be closed in the accusatory criminal system,” said lawyer Carlos Carrillo, from the legal team that defends the former president.

Roniel Ortiz, Martinelli’s lawyer, maintains that the former president is protected by the principle of specialty c in the1904 extradition treaty of Panama and the United States and, therefore, cannot be investigated for causes other than the wiretapping case for which he was extradited, in June. of 2018: in which he was declared “not guilty. ”, The sentence is under appeal

“The prosecution turned offices to the Migration Directorate, requesting information from Ricardo Martinelli, as an act of investigation and they know that they could not do it, because there had been warnings that they could not touch the specialty principle,” said Ortiz.  On arriving at the court.

Martinelli was not present at the hearing. He delivered a certificate of incapacity for 60 days, so as not to be investigated in other cases in which he has been cited, such as the Odebrecht and New Business cases, both for the payment of bribes by state contractors. Lawyer Ortiz said that his client’s medical conditions are the product of “all the pressure” to which he is subjected due to the issue of his children arrested in Guatemala and others.