No “political  persecution” in Blue Apple sentencing

  As expected, the Blue Apple case – in which several ministers of Ricardo Martinelli’s government (2009-2014) received bribes, according to a ruling known last Monday – is not political persecution. If there was persecution, it was the one that those accused brought against the media when they presented their cases to public opinion. There is no doubt that the sanctions and penalties are exemplary. There were eight convictions – and there were no more because two of the accused did not have the courage to face the charges against them and took refuge under the skirts of Parlacen, a maneuver in which the PRD is complicit – which together add up, 736 months in prison and almost $40 million in fines, with former Minister of Public Works Federico Suárez being the one who took the worst part: 14 years in prison and $27.4 million in fines. The sentence is appealable, but it is very likely that those convicted are not expecting the magistrates to have a very different criterion than that of Judge Baloisa Marquínez. Their hope is to achieve impunity should her former boss achieve an electoral victory. They bet on that, just as the former president convicted in the New Business case does. Neither their lies nor their excuses nor their behaviors should ever be forgiven. – LA PRENSA,  Nov.  15