Marathon reading of Martinelli wiretaps ends

The Public Ministry concluded on Friday, September 17, the 38-day marathon reading of the seven books that contain the transcripts of wiretapping by members of the National Security Council (CSN) between 2012 and 2014 which constitutes one of the most important tests in the trial of former President Ricardo Martinelli for alleged illegal interception of communications.

Carlos Herrera Delgado, lawyer for Mitchell Doens (victim of the punctures), said that the trial judges Iveth Francois, Jennifer Saavedra and Marisol Osorio, accepted the seven booklets as evidence of the Prosecutor’s Office after they were introduced by reading during the judgment.

Delgado revealed that next Monday the oral trial of Martinelli for illegal wiretapping will enter the witness presentation phase and that access will be allowed to a limited group of journalists.

The jurist specified that the booklets presented to the court account for the interceptions of emails and conversations made to politicians, labor leaders, and businessmen by CSN officials in the Martinelli administration.

The ex-president’s lawyers indicated that at the time of cross-examination of the prosecution’s witnesses, the irregularities of the process followed by their client and will be demonstrated and that it was all a fabricated case.