The Brawl at City Hall: Panama’s Ombudsman Office Opens an Investigation

The Ombudsman’s Office has opened an investigation following the altercation at the Hatillo building, headquarters of the Panama City Hall, where a group of former municipal officials clashed with municipal police officers, resulting in one of the former employees being injured after falling down the stairs.  Ombudsman Ángela Russo pictured below, emphasized that the agency has held talks with former officials who are demanding payment of employment benefits.  “Those people who came to us received payment once they submitted their request. At this time, we have an open investigation into the matter, and that’s all I can say because we are in the process of carrying it out,” she said. 

Russo stated that in the case of the altercation, it is expected that the Mayor’s Office of Panama, as the governing body, will issue its considerations on the matter.  “The request is being made to the competent authority because it is part of the investigation. I am not certain at this time who the person who allegedly attacked was, and what supposedly happened,” she said.  The official emphasized that the law governing the Ombudsman’s Office, and based on investigations, empowers it to issue a resolution indicating whether or not human rights violations have occurred.  The mayor of the capital, Mayer Mizrachi, has maintained that his administration has been following up on the claims of the officials and that to date more than 1.2 million dollars have been disbursed and is moving forward with the processing of another 3,000 requests from former officials of administrations since 2014. 

“The law also stipulates that if we ask the official or the authority required for information, and they do not respond, the Ombudsman’s Office can issue a resolution declaring the institution or official, hostile and obstructive,” she warned.