WITHOUT the presence of its president, José Ayú Prado, the plenary of Panama’s Supreme Court, in an extraordinary session on Monday, June 6, decided to accumulate five habeas corpus appeals filed by the attorneys of several people being investigated by the Office of the Special Anticorruption Prosecutor related to the Odebrecht case.

The  Attorney General, Kenia Porcell had complained that tardiness by the  courts in resolving  motions, often seen as delaying tactics by defense attorneys, were hampering investigations.

In a press release, the Judicial Body reported that it had also decided to .

dismiss one petition and accept the withdrawal of another.

The president of the court, José Ayú Prado, did not attend the session, due to a prior commitment. Ayú Prado, renowned for his overseas jaunts, also missed the previous plenary on Friday, as he was traveling.