Martinelli arrest notice could come Monday

THE DECISION on whether to issue an arrest warrant for ex-president Ricardo Marinelli could come as early as Monday, December 14.

Judge Abel Zamorano  has asked the Chief Justice, Jose Ayu Prado, to convene a plenary on that day  to discuss the issue.

Martinelli’s lawyers  moved fast and appealed preventive habeas corpus for the Central American Parliament deputy not be stopped. The lawyer Sidney Sitton  questioned the decision to declare his client in absentia.

The parade of lawyers, prosecutors, political activists, journalists and onlookers began at the Supreme Court on Friday before 9:00 am, when the hearing in which Judge Jerome Mejia, acting as investigating judge declared  “in absentia” the former president Ricardo Martinelli who was to be tried for illegal wiretapping.

POLITICAL CHARADE
Some 30 Martinelli  supporters, led by former state spin docor Luis Eduardo Camacho, were waiting outside the building. They were  members of the CD Party Martinelli founded, funded and rule, Change (CD), a group that in its heyday came to exceed in adherents of the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), the country’s largest political group

Camacho, megaphone in hand, was commissioned to encourage the group. Shouting  slogans against President Juan Carlos Varela, against Kenya Porcell prosecutor against the Court and against the process

When Marta Linares de Martinelli, the wife of exgobernante arrived, dressed in white and with a combative attitude, Linares de Martinelli told reporters that she had recommended her husband not come, so it does not become a “trophy” of this government. “He’s in the United States. To my knowledge, as far as I have knowledge, he has not been notified. Also, I would not recommend anyone to come to this country because the laws are not respected, “she added.

A man dressed in blue sweater shouted: “Tell him to be a man, to come, and show  his face”. The former first lady ignored him and entered the audience hall guarded by Dinoska Montalvo,CD  social media activist and Candice Williams, candidate for elective office in the CD electoral conference to be held next year.

The arraignment hearing was quick and simple.  Mejia based his decision on Article 158 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which states: “the accused person who has been required and fails to appear without good reason, which circumvents the establishment, and that it is not timely filed by its guarantor, …or that their whereabouts are unknown, will be declared in default and an arrest warrant will be issued where appropriate. “

Mejia’s  decision came as a surprise to Martinelli’s legal team  says La Prensa, which had hoped that the act be declared null as requested Rogelio Cruz and Leonardo Paul, spokespersons of the legal team, who argued that Martinelli had not been notified in person, as required by the Criminal Procedure Code.

The prosecutor, Harry Diaz, said that the Secretariat of the judiciary there is evidence that the former president was notified on December 2 through a telegram which was stamped received. He also argued that the secretary had sent emails to Martinelli informing him of the process.

Diaz’s position was supported by lawyers Francisco Carreira Pitti, representing the PRD presidential candidate Juan Carlos Navarro; by Angel Alvarez’s, attorney Miguel Antonio Bernal; the former deputy Yassir Purcait and PRD deputy Zulay Rodríguez.

Carlos Herrera Moran, lawyer for Mauro Zuniga, another victim of espionage in Martinelli’s government, claimed that the presence in the room of his wife and holder of this, Marta de Martinelli, makes clear that he was notified.

On the street, oblivious to what was happening inside the courtroom, Martinelli’s followers were still in action says La Prensa. They were joined 20 CD members from Colon carrying flags and shouting “viva Martinelli, long  live CD”. Perhaps hoping for a Christmas miracle, the Martinellistas were accompanied by a Santa Claus who, dressed in red and white, also waved the flag of the party leader.

Carlos Carrillo, of Martinelli’s legal team, said Mejia’s decision is a “violation of due process” to the detriment of his client.

He did not rule out going to international justice if Martinelli “is not allowed to exercise this right to defense.”