Martinelli wants to kidnap La Prensa

Former president Ricardo Martinelli, potentially entangled in multiple criminal investigations has been sending   lawsuits in all directions like some buccaneer with his flag nailed to the mast firing  off grapeshot at an  encircling fleet  seeking to haul him to justice.

One of the targets is La Prensa whose team of investigative journalists has challenged many administrations  The Martinelli family with a quarterdeck packed with well-rewarded compliant legal lieutenants has filed some thirty lawsuits (criminal and civil) against Corporación La Prensa, SA (Corprensa) , its directors and journalists from La Prensa and Mi Diario, and now the former governor threatens to “ kidnap the administration ” of the newspapers.

” I have more demands on them, not only me, but others, but next time I will kidnap the administration, the Varelista environment, which is the real extension of the cage of madmen. I am their sole reason for being and existing. Please don’t forget me on a daily basis. Without me, they don’t exude hatred. Que Rico [sic] ”, wrote Martinelli on Tuesday, June 30, on his account Twitter account

Martinelli who once reveled in the title El Loco ( the crazy one) which he adopted during his election campaign when it was alleged that he was bipolar. does not give more details about his actions, but his conduct has already been described as an attempt to censor, intimidate and/or persecute journalists and the media reports La Prensa Only against Corprensa, the Martinelli Linares family already accumulates 17 civil lawsuits: two filed by Marta Linares de Martinelli and 15 by the former president, in which the joint claims amounts to $46 million. In addition, they have filed 15 criminal complaints.

In total, it has sued 37 people, including journalists, executives, cartoonists and columnists from Corprensa.

Meanwhile, he has also turned his legal guns on numerous others who have crossed his path.

“I find the message very worrying, not only because of its tone but also because of the content of the threat, which for the first time speaks of hijacking the administration of a media outlet. This represents a very serious attempt to abuse the judicial system to limit the rights of expression and information,” said Sabrina Bacal, president of the National Council of Journalism (CNP) .

Roberto Eisenmann, founding president of La Prensa , warned that a kidnapping involves the closure of the corporation.

“If it occurs to someone in the judicial sector to follow that dire purpose, we are facing a very dangerous situation in this country. If it happens, we are talking about the closure of La Prensa. So that’s the seriousness of the threat, “said Eisenmann.

He recalled that in its four decades, La Prensa has been threatened and even suffered three closings in the 1980s, during the military dictatorship. “It was always reborn stronger.”

José Isabel Blandón, president of the Panameñista Party and former presidential candidate, considered that an administrative kidnapping would be “a total outburst” and an attack on freedom of expression.

I would say the same if it were a kidnapping against Panamá América or La Estrella . It is not good and less because of a civil lawsuit for damages and opens a very dangerous door, “he said.

Panama America is a Martinelli-owned newspaper.