The fate of former President Ricardo Martinelli took another  turn in Panamas’ Supreme Court on  Monday, October 22 as his legal team  made its  latest move to get him off the hook in a case in which the prosecution  is calling for a  21-year jail term

Judge Oydén Ortega admitted a defense of guarantees presented by the defense that challenges its hearing of the case of illegal wiretapping alleging that that court cannot investigate him because he resigned from the Central American Parliament which he once described as a “den of thieves” but fled to when he left office.

Ortega requested a report of the matter for his colleague Jerónimo Mejía, who acts as judge of guarantees of the case.

Ortega, in the unitary room (the magistrate acts alone), admitted the protection presented by lawyer Carlos Carrillo and asked Mejía to render a report of his performance.

Ortega must now prepare a draft decision and share it with his eight colleagues to read it and for that, there will be a term of 20 days reports La Prensa.

This is the fourth guarantee protection presented by Martinelli's lawyers in relation to the competency of this process. Two of them were dismissed by Ortega himself for formal matters, and a third, in the office of Judge  Angela Russo, was not admitted due to defects of form.

On previous occasions, Judges Efrén Tello and Asunción Alonso have been in favor of admitting safeguards to decide whether or not the court should continue to deal with the case.

Complainant
Rosendo Rivera, attorney, and plaintiff, in the case, said that it is important for the Court to define the merits of the matter. "Because throughout the different hearings that have been made, the defense has had as a crutch the alleged non-existence [of the jurisdiction of the case] by the Court, "he said.

"Now, once and for all and in an expeditious manner, I believe that the Court must rule on the merits and decide what it is going to do," he added.

Martinelli is being held at El Renacer Prison while he is being tried in this case. The former president, who allegedly ordered spying on the communications of at least 150 people, through the National Security Council was extradited from the USA  on June 11 insisting that he is innocent.