Judges who acquitted Martinelli stay will stay while probe underway

Luis Ramón Fábrega

 
1,490Views 2Comments Posted 21/12/2021

 

 The judges who acquitted former president  Ricardo Martinelli of political espionage  –Iveth Francois Vega (president), Jennifer Cristine Saavedra Naranjo (rapporteur), and Marysol Osorio Leyton (third judge) - will remain in their positions, “as long as no element arises that we can take it as there is some violation of the law, said. The President of the Supreme Court, Luis Ramón Fábrega, on Monday, December 20.

"The Public Ministry is conducting an investigation and we are very respectful of this stage [...] we are at the orders of the collaborations that they request,".

"We cannot go around taking measures, disrespecting rights or presuming illicit actions when we do not have sufficient evidence because there is judicial independence," he said. "when we like rulings and when we don't like them." "A ruling is neither good nor bad because it satisfies our aspirations but rather that it complies with the law," he added.

Fábrega affirmed that in “all the cases” where they have found irregular actions that do not comply with the law, the respective complaints have been filed with the MP.

He explained that to take administrative measures against an official of the Judicial Branch requires a sworn statement and an accusation, having evidence and elements of judgment.

"When we have some piece of evidence in the future, or evidence that there is irregular action, rest assured that we will go to the MP (...) we will see how the circumstances evolve," he said.

The meeting of the video in question would have occurred on the afternoon of Sunday, October 31, 2021, at the restaurant of the Club Deportivo Unión Española, in San Francisco. The next day, when the ex-president's trial resumed, the defense announced that it was suspending the presentation of evidence.

Hours after the video was made public, and the public repudiated the fact, former President Martinelli issued a warning: he will sue civilly and kidnap the property of those who carry out a "dirty campaign" against him.