This Thursday, at about 9:45 am, at the facilities of the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino) in Amador, the preliminary hearing began for 25 people investigated for the purchase of Editora Panamá América, SA (Epasa), in 2010, allegedly with public funds, a case known as “New Business”.
Among the defendants is former president Ricardo Martinelli Berrocal, a shareholder of Epasa, however, his lawyer Roniel Ortíz reported that he will not attend, because he is “incapacitated.”
When asked what his client has and how long the disability is, Ortiz simply pointed out “until the doctor says it’s over.”
The jurist also spoke about the principle of specialty contained in the bilateral extradition treaty between the United States and Panama, of 1904, although the US State Department has said that it no longer applies to Martinelli, because the grounds established in the treaty itself have been met. treaty.
Martinelli was extradited by the United States, in June 2018, to answer for the so-called puncture case, on alleged unauthorized interception of communications and monitoring.
The State Department has said that “Panama is free to take Mr. Martinelli to trial without obtaining an exception from the United States to the specialty rule.”
Ortíz said that his client enjoys electoral jurisdiction, as president of the Realizing Goals party.
The third judge liquidating criminal cases, Baloisa Marquínez, is in charge of the hearing, which due to the number of investigators and lawyers, will take place at the Parlatino headquarters.
The first prosecutor against Organized Crime, Emeldo Márquez, represents the Public Ministry in this case, which has a file of 164 volumes.
This hearing was originally scheduled to be held on November 12, 2021, but was postponed to the alternate date (January 27-31), at the request of several defense attorneys.
Márquez arrived at the Parlatino headquarters, where security measures have been tightened, at 8:40 a.m.
