Court rejects media blackout for Martinelli

The Oral Trial Court of the illegal wiretap case denied on Friday a request from the defendant ex-president Ricardo Martinelli who wanted the media to be prohibited from mentioning his name, that of his family and that of his companies.

Judges Iveth Francois Vega, Jennifer Saavedra Naranjo, and Marysol Osorio concluded that the only thing that should be respected against the accused is the presumption of innocence until proven otherwise.

Martinelli made the request on the afternoon of Thursday, September 23, after the presentation of the protected witness before the Trial Court.

He is a former agent of the National Security Council (CSN) , where the unauthorized interceptions were carried out between the years 2012 to 2014.

The judges did grant the protection measures that the protected witness  had requested, for him and his family: prohibition to disclose his name, his voice and his testimony, as well as labor jurisdiction. However, on social media, Martinelli and his team have reportedly continued to refer to this person.