WIRETAPPING: Jaws closing on Martinelli

SUPREME COURT Justice Harry Díaz, in his role as prosecutor  of former President Ricardo Martinelli for allegedly ordering illegal surveillance while in office, has  asked for a sentence of up to 21 years in prison for the former president and has asked for Interpol to determine his whereabouts.

Some media reports suggest he is heading for Costa Rica or Spain.

Diaz has  asked the judge to open oral proceedings in the case. Martinelli left Panama on January  28 and is believed to be in Florida, though his exact whereabouts are unknown.

Díaz stated that his investigation determined that Martinelli gave orders to members of the National Security Council to carry out interceptions of communications, reports La Prensa.

He noted that the former president had established a unit to carry out t illicit activities that violate human rights.

The prosecutor said that he will present documents and testimony from former ministers and officials.

Ángel Álvarez, the lawyer of several of the victims, said that he asked the prosecutor to issue an arrest warrant for Martinelli due to the gravity of the crimes. He said that the alert only puts Martinelli on notice and will allow him to evade justice.

Martinelli’s defense attorneys said that Díaz violated the criminal procedure code by ignoring the phase of allocation of charges and the requirement to submit an indictment.

In his report, Díaz asked for a sentence of up to 21 years in prison for the former president. That would be the maximum penalty for each charge. He is charged with two counts of interception of telecommunications without judicial authorization and two counts of embezzlement.

During his investigation, Díaz interviewed several witnesses and victims of the wiretaps linking  Martinelli  to the case. These included former National Security Council officials and a protected witness.

Also facing charges in the case are former National Security Council officials Gustavo Pérez and Alejandro Garuz, currently detained in El Renacer Prison, and Ronny Rodriguez and William Pittí, who are fugitives. Their trial will be in March 2016.

In the letter of indictment, Díaz said that between 2012 and 2014, officials of the National Security Council carried out “unlawful interceptions of communications of a number of citizens” on the orders of Martinelli.

At least 150 people were victims, including politicians, judges, journalists and civil society. Leaders.

The report details that Martinelli had established an organized apparatus of power that allowed him to give instructions to the council.

The report included 11 elements linking  him  to the case, including testimony from former council officials and a protected witness. It also highlighted the testimony of the former Minister of the Presidency Demetrio Papadimitriu (2009-2012), who, in an interview, said that state security policy was the responsibility of the president.

Papadimitriu said that he never participated in a meeting of the council, since they were convened and chaired by Martinelli.

Díaz also included the testimony of former Minister of the Presidency Roberto Henriquez who said  that the council was attached to the president, and that “the topic of security was neither by law nor in practice my responsibility.”

Former council official Júbilo Graell revealed that Ronny Rodríguez “gave instructions for monitoring certain objectives that came directly from No. 1 (the president).” He also said Rodríguez took the results of the surveillance to the Presidency of the Republic.” In addition, he testified that he moved a server from the headquarters of the council to the headquarters of Super 99, the supermarket chain owned by Martinelli.

The report also contains evidence of the contract between the Israeli company M.L.M. Protection and the government to provide the equipment used in eavesdropping, which was signed by former Security Council Director Gustavo Perez.

The Martinelli administration purchased the equipment for $13.4 million in 2010 with funds from the National Assistance Program (PAN).

In addition, the prosecutor will present testimony from former Security Council official Julio Molto, stating  that he sought approval from the Panama Canal Authority to install equipment that was used in the surveillance.

“I don’t remember who made me that request, but I do remember that they required a higher quality internet for their systems, since the existing bandwidth was not adequate,” Molto testified.

In August, current Security Council Director Rolando López filed a criminal complaint against former officials Pérez, Garuz and Moltó in the purchase and disappearance of another surveillance system, purchased from the Israeli company NSO Group.

With the testimonies of Papadimitriu and Henriquez, Díaz will argue at trial that Martinelli “directly handled security issues.”

DEFENCE REJECTS ACCUSATIONS

Leonardo Paul, one of Martinelli’s lawyers, said that the accusations represent a violation of due process, since it breached the rules laid down in the criminal procedure code.

According to Paul, Díaz violated the last paragraph of article 5 of the code, which establishes that “no formulation of charges will be made without a proven accusation.”

He also argued that the accusatory penal system has a series of well-defined procedures and that non-compliance can lead to the nullification of the process.