Court rejects Martinelli's bid to  muzzle media

Former President Ricardo Martinelli Berrocal sought to prevent, through the courts, the digital portal Foco Panama from disseminating photos and information about him and his family.

but the guarantee judge Oris Medina denied a request that Martinelli presented, within the process followed against Mauricio Valenzuela and Annette Planells, journalist and co-founder of Foco, for the alleged commission of the crime of libel.

In a hearing held Tuesday, Judge Medina determined that the rights alleged by Martinelli as a victim have not been violated and that the media cannot be prevented from disclosing information, since it would be censorship that is prohibited in the Constitution.

The judge also denied a request from the prosecution to send letters to the National Migration Service and the Land Transit and Transportation Authority to verify the address and immigration status of the accused.

The request made by Martinelli, who was represented by the lawyer Shirley Castañeda, is part of the libel complaint filed after Foco released a video of an alleged meeting between the ex-president and the husband of one of the judges in the wiretapping case, in which Martinelli was acquitted.