The Martial Court partially accepted in a divided ruling the amparo appeal presented by the former commander in chief of the Army, general (r) Ricardo Martinezwho resigned after being summoned to testify as accused by the visiting minister Romy Rutherfordwithin the framework of the “Pasajes y Fretes” edge of the Milicogate.
The general (r) was summoned to testify for last Thursday at the Rutherford offices. However, Martinez did not attend. So your lawyer Juan Carlos Manriquez He filed an appeal for the former commander in chief to be summoned to testify at his home, located in the Lo Curro neighborhood.
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Specifically, the Martial Court accepted the possibility that Martínez testify in his home. “This court differs from the justification provided by the minister, because it does not take into account article 246 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, referring to the fact that the authorities mentioned in said rule, applicable in matters of military justice, can declare in their domicile or in the place they designate”, states the resolution.
However, the Court did not accept Manríquez’s request for an eventual arrest warrant not to be issued against Martínez, for not attending to testify last Thursday.
Nor did they accept that the general (r) appear before Rutherford in the company of his lawyer.
Let us remember that Martínez announced his resignation from the Army Commander-in-Chief last Wednesday, in the middle of the public account of the military institution, one day before being summoned to testify.
In his place, the President Sebastian Pinera appointed the general Rodrigo Venturawho will be in office until March 9, when he will assume Javier Iturriaga.
“Passengers and Freight” edge
The background that Minister Rutherford handled to summon Martínez to testify was in a report prepared by the Investigative Police (PDI), who investigated 15 transfers registered between 2009 and 2019.
Based on the prosecutions of other generals in the case, the modus operandi for the alleged fraud consisted of a travel agency preparing the departures, looking for tickets with long stopovers and at a lower price than budgeted, so that there was a difference in money that many times ended up in the pockets of high officials.
