Ex-presidents habeas corpus appeal thrown out

An appeal for habeas corpus filed by former President Ernesto Pérez Balladares has been unanimously rejected by the Supreme Court of Panama.

The appeal was presented by lawyers for the former president to avoid his detention during a criminal investigation related to charges of money laundering.
The nine judges ruled that the appeal cannot be filed until a detention order for Balladares is issued.
So far, the former president has only been briefly questioned, after a bizarre search by police while he was allegedly at home while helicopters and multiple police units were scouring the country for him on December 28 and 29.
He showed up at the prosecutor’s office late in the evening, in a BMW driven by a son and accompanied by his wife.
He was there for less than 20 minutes a scenario which drew comment from President Rucardo Martinelli.
He was not taken into custody.
Balladares is scheduled to be interviewed by  criminal prosecutor José Ayú Prado on Friday.
The former president was seen at the Paitilla Medical Center on Wednesday.