Keith Woolford Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 (edited) The stunning public account reveals details of a recent meeting that the anti-corruption crusader had concerning the Martinelli wiretapping case with Supreme Court President Hernan de Leon (he himself a victim), and how he revealed that it's already been decided the case will be annulled. All kinds of potential political or constitutional crises loom here, well beyond RM's disposition. Edited August 14, 2018 by Keith Woolford Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Woolford Posted August 14, 2018 Author Share Posted August 14, 2018 The CSJ President is, of course, denying that he made the statements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Woolford Posted August 14, 2018 Author Share Posted August 14, 2018 The Editorial board of LaPrensa is calling for the resignation of the Supreme Court judges involved in the alleged conspiracy to pervert justice. The President of the Court, Hernan de Leon, discovered that he himself is a victim of various compromising recordings which were wiretapped by Martinelli's crew, and are now being used to pressure his decision in RM's case. https://www.prensa.com/opinion/unico-camino-renuncia_0_5098740145.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Woolford Posted August 14, 2018 Author Share Posted August 14, 2018 As published in The Panama News, this is Eric Jackson's take on the issue. The Martinelli scandal explodes: What Now? — an adaptation of a photo by a discredited public institution — Attorney General Kenia Porcell, whose performance in office is not above criticism but who ought to be believed in this instance, said in an an August 13 address to the nation that Hernán De León, presiding magistrate of the Supreme Court, had come to her office two weeks earlier and told her that the Martinelli case now in trial before the high court would be dropped. The magistrate, she said, told her that Ricardo Martinelli’s spy operation had recording of more than 5,000 people, with multiple copies of the archive stashed in the United States and other countries. One of these, she said he said, was embarrassing to the magistrate and he was being blackmailed about it. Hence the intention to drop the case. First, this is an allegation of a prisoner threatening a judge. Not just any prisoner, not just any judge. The worldwide usual is that for this sort of infraction the inmate gets “thrown in the hole,” that is, put into isolation under harsh conditions. Martinelli, however, has a cell full of amenities that no other prisoner gets. So en route to the hole there should be a special cell extraction to which he should be a witness. In addition to guards or police to take him away to a new place of confinement — a punishment cell in La Joyita or another mainline prison — there should be others armed with hammers to destroy all of his luxuries in his presence. Prisoners threatening judges is something that Panama should never abide. The essence of sensible prison discipline is to allow inmates some small privileges which might be taken away for bad behavior. So be it. Martinelli’s phalanxes of lawyers and their endless motions should not be allowed into the prison discipline process. Second, there needs to be full disclosure of all known facts and a full investigation into the violations of the rights of an entire nation as well as thousands of individuals. Porcell has resisted such transparency, perhaps out of concern about the lawsuits and criminal charges that people not notably members of any elites — like the editor of The Panama News – might bring. We already know of 150 people whose communications were monitored, so we already know that anyone who had electronic communications with any of these people was also monitored. Third, there are already known accomplices in the overall surveillance scheme. The ex-president’s brother-in-law, for part of the time acting in conjunction with Cable & Wireless (which had the national surveillance camera contract) and said relative and a company of his reportedly acquiring the equipment, programs and technical assistance to set up the spy operation from Israeli and Italian firms. All individuals and companies involved or possibly involved in the Martinelli spy operation ought to be called in for questioning and certain presumptions should be made about those who do not cooperate. Fourth, De León should resign from the Supreme Court forthwith. Wimps should not be allowed in such high places. Finally, there should be a blue-ribbon investigating panel of qualified and impartial people, advised by an international team of experts, to both get to the bottom of the whole surveillance scandal and report to the Panamanian people and the proper institutions. They should also get into the court cases, the truncated investigations and the historical contexts of this entire matter. Let the chips fall where they may. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted August 15, 2018 Moderators Share Posted August 15, 2018 Quote Attorney General’s Supreme Court bombshell Posted on August 14, 2018 in Panama Kenia Porcell opens Pandora's box Post Views: 149 Civic groups and anti-corruption protestors were set to march on Panama’s Supreme Court, on Tuesday, Aug 14 to demand the resignation of the acting Supreme Court president Herman De Leon. The spontaneous move followed a bombshell video message from Panama’s Attorney General Kenia Porcell reporting a conversation with De Leon in which he said he had been wiretapped during the previous administration and that copies of the recording were in Panama, the US, and Italy. According to Porcell he confirmed being a victim of extortion and that the case against former president Ricardo Martinelli by the phone jabs “is going to fall.” He also revealed that the number of people subjected to illegal interceptions was not 150, but 5,000 The former president of the National Bar Association (CNA), Juan Carlos Araúz, said that the statement adds “more doubts to the questionable image of the highest judicial body.”. Rock bottom justice The independent deputy and candidate for the Presidency Ana Matilde Gómez said that the country “has hit rock bottom.” Gomez, who was Panama’s first woman Attorney General was herself a victim of a Supreme Court cabal led by a Martinelli appointee which forced her out of office, to be later replaced by Jose Ayu Prado, who in quick-fire moves by Martinelli became a Supreme Court judge and later its president. After he had announced last November, that he would seek re-election he made a surprise announcement and resigned from the post, without giving reasons. Law Professor Miguel Antonio Bernal said that for no one is it a secret that there is corruption in the Court, but “She should know that this is not the procedural way to act. What is behind these statements, a clear intention to try to decapitate several magistrates or to tamper with a trial that started badly” For his part, the Panamenista deputy, José Antonio Domínguez, said that if “ these magistrates must be called to trial and prosecuted for acts of corruption.” In his Twitter account, businessman and activist Aurelio Barría said that “serious and delicate statements of Attorney Kenia Porcell seems to show pressures and interests between magistrates, this is shameful, No more! On the street!”. [story developing]. https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/attorney-generals-supreme-court-bombshell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted August 16, 2018 Moderators Share Posted August 16, 2018 Quote Impunity means renouncing democracy – Transparency International Posted on August 15, 2018 in Panama Herman De Leon and Ayu Prado Post Views: 106 “If the corrupt get away with achieving impunity thanks to the chaos generated in the Judicial Branch, then we will be renouncing our democracy,” said the Foundation for the Development of Citizen Liberty, thd Panamanian chapter of Transparency International in a statement released Wednesday, August 15. The release comes after Attorney General, Kenia Porcell said that the interim president of the Supreme Court of Hernán De León told her that he had been recorded and it was intended to take down the wiretapping case against ex-president Ricardo Martinelli. De León has denied that he suffered any kind of pressure. The Foundation said that in the face of this reality “there are few ways that really achieve effective changes “. Among those ways are that the judges resign, refer to De Leon and José Ayú Prado resign. According to Porcell, De León told him in a meeting that “Ayú [Prado] uses me, but I also use him.” Another alternative is for De León to resign “as is his obligation before any attempt to obstruction of justice, “said the foundation. There is also the possibility that the Executive Branch appoints an independent, national and international, that “can carry out the tasks that obviously we have not been able to perform to straighten justice”. In its statement, the Foundation said that the scandal “cannot be confronted by the Judicial Organ, because it lacks the necessary integrity and ethical structures, which should have been created with the postponed implementation of the Judicial Career https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/impunity-means-renouncing-democracy-transparency-international Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted August 16, 2018 Moderators Share Posted August 16, 2018 Quote OPINION: Courage of corruption fighting prosecutor Posted on August 15, 2018 in Panama Post Views: 93 THE ATTORNEY GENERAL of the Nation, Kenia Porcell, has acted with the courage and commitment that public servants wait for in the fight against corruption. She ran the risk that who she mentioned in her public statement are precisely those who can judge it, and not just dismiss it, but also condemn her to prison. Faced with this, not trivial threat, the prosecutor has set an example for the country. Maybe there are still many questions without answers after her statement, but we must not forget that she received only part of the information and that the interim president of the Supreme Court is the one who can clarify doubts about their conversation. With everything and the risk that for it poses for the prosecutor it is she who, in the knowledge of a fact that could be a crime, has taken the first step so that investigate, although it must be the magistrate who gives the face in this delicate matter. The truth is that The Attorney General has shaken the justice system that is a secret for no one, not even the most skeptical, the crisis it is going through. This official has done much more than we Panamanians when we know of the existence of a crime: She did not keep silent. Now, Judge Hernán De León has the floor… LA PRENSA, Aug 15 https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/opinion-courage-of-corruption-fighting-prosecutor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted August 16, 2018 Moderators Share Posted August 16, 2018 Quote Panamanian civil groups urge special commission to investigate scandal around Martinelli case Wed, 08/15/2018 - 20:42 Panamanian civil groups urged judges of the Supreme Court the creation of a national or international high level commission to investigate the "serious accusations" of alleged illegal wiretapping, in the context of a scandal surrounding the case against former President Ricardo Martinelli. Attorney General, Kenia Porcell, claimed on Monday through a video that the president of the Panamanian Supreme Court, Hernán De León, told her the case for the alleged illegal wiretapping against Martinelli "is going to be halted, we are going to annul it (in the Supreme) and will be passed to the Attorney General's Office" or Public Prosecutor's Office. At an "informal" meeting, which according to Porcell took place in her office on July 30, De León said: "I was recorded, there are three copies," referring to an alleged blackmail, so the prosecutor demanded to file the corresponding complaint. Activists from the Citizens' Alliance for Justice, the Assembly of Citizen Action and the Foundation for the Development of Citizen Freedom-Panamanian Chapter of Transparency International (TI), as well as members of the powerful construction union Suntracs, protested in front of the headquarters of the Supreme Court and agreed that the justice system is in crisis. In a statement, the civil organizations urged the Executive of Juan Carlos Varela "the creation of a high-level commission, whether national or international, against impunity, to investigate these serious complaints of recordings against magistrates of the Court and issue recommendations that allow us to face this crisis." The NGOs joined other sectors that on Tuesday asked Porcell to file a formal complaint based on the statements issued by De León during the meeting held on July 30, which the magistrate acknowledged it was held, although he added the issue discussed there was interpreted in a "very particular" manner by the attorney general. They demanded the resignation of Judge De León to the presidency of the Court, which he exercises on an interim basis, "until the complaint is clarified", which was made public by Porcell on Monday. They asked the magistrates "to set their position" on the statements issue by the attorney general, specifically on the "pressures they are receiving according to information provided by Judge De León", and to say "what measures will be adopted to raise confidence to the Panamanian people". They expressed "it is urgent" that Varela appoints the two chief magistrates of the Supreme Court, after last December the Parliament did not ratify some nominees by the president. "Who benefits from this chaos that erodes trust in justice? The corrupt! Under no circumstances can the trial against former President Martinelli be left at the mercy of these tricks to achieve impunity," the organizations said. The labor leader, Luis González, accused the three branches of the state of being "rotten", and affirmed that the trade unionists demand that the magistrates of the Supreme Court "be investigated." Martinelli, 66, and extradited by the US Last June, is tried by the Supreme Court because when prosecutor Harry Díaz filed the accusation against him, in October 2015, he was a deputy of the Central American Parliament (Parlacen). That was the argument of presiding judge Jerónimo Mejía, to reject on June 26 an appeal filed by the defense, which requested that the case be passed to the ordinary courts because Martinelli resigned, that same month, as regional deputy. The Supreme Court has already rejected an injunction filed by the defense so that the case can be transferred to ordinary courts, but there is another pending resolution on the same issue. http://www.panamatoday.com/panama/panamanian-civil-groups-urge-special-commission-investigate-scandal-around-martinelli-case Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted August 16, 2018 Moderators Share Posted August 16, 2018 Quote Panamanian prosecutor’s statements spoils case against Martinelli Wed, 08/15/2018 - 17:08 Panamanian Attorney General Kenia Porcell, appeared before a public prosecutor's office today to testify about an alleged blackmail scheme she revealed on Monday and that is aimed at nullifying the trial against former President Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014) for alleged political espionage. "I have told almost everything (De León) told me, mainly when he reaffirmed me on several occasions he had been recorded and when he also told me the case was going be halted, the case was going to be annulled. I have appeared before the Prosecutor’s Office to report all these facts," Porcell told the media. Porcell said late Monday in a video posted on the social networks of the Public Ministry that the president of the Supreme Court, Hernán De León, told him in a private meeting on July 30 the case against Martinelli for wiretapping hundreds of people during his administration" is going to be annulled, we are going to halt it". http://www.panamatoday.com/panama/panamanian-prosecutors-statements-spoils-case-against-martinelli-7568 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted August 17, 2018 Moderators Share Posted August 17, 2018 Quote Judicial System Laid Bare Following a controversy caused by statements made by the Attorney General of the Nation, the Panamanian business sector is demanding that a thorough investigation be carried out, asserting that things are moving "dangerously towards the exhaustion of any principle of legality". Wednesday, August 15, 2018 From a statement issued by the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama (CCIAP): After the serious statements made by the Attorney General of the Nation, Kenia Porcell, against the Justice System, the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama (CCIAP) is demanding pertinent investigations be made within the Rule of Law and due process; since we are advancing dangerously towards the exhaustion of every principle of legality."We have insistently stressed the need to have institutions within the rule of law, and that this be applied to all equally," said Gabriel Barletta, president of the CCIAP. "What transcended on the supposed content and form of a conversation between two high officials of the Public Ministry and the Judicial Organ, leaves in question the transparency and independence of such Organs; in addition to causing a lot of doubts and questions," Barletta pointed out.The CCIAP emphasizes the need to recover the country's institutions, since lack of widespread credibility makes us look like a failed state, where there is no climate of seriousness and this has negative effects not only in our society, but in terms of a decrease of investments and sources of employment."National patience has run out; therefore, in the coming days, the business sector as a whole will be proposing specific actions to improve our administration of justice," said the president of the CCIAP. https://www.centralamericadata.com/en/article/main/Judicial_System_Laid_Bare Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted August 17, 2018 Moderators Share Posted August 17, 2018 Quote Businessmen call for coalition to face Panama crisis Posted on August 16, 2018 in Panama Demonstration at Supreme Court Post Views: 180 The Panamanian Association of Business Executives (Apede) has called for the creation of a ‘citizen coalition’ to confront the country’s ‘institutional crisis following revelations of alleged blackmail of Supreme Court judges to manipulate the wiretapping trial of ex-president, Ricardo Martinelli, The business body summoned its Board of Examiners and, after the meeting, determined that the crisis is “deep”, following the recent statements of Attorney General Kenia Porcell. The crisis, they say, calls for the formation of a citizen coalition that demands the restoration of the country’s institutions reports La Estrella. The prosecutor informed the country on Monday that the president of the Court, Hernán De León, told her in a private meeting at the Attorney General’s Office on July 30 that the trial against Martinelli for alleged political espionage “is going to fall’. Unions join protest Porcell said that De Leon told him that he had been recorded, and was on a list of 5,000 people whose communications had been intercepted. Apede warned that the institutional crisis shows a fracture of all the State Bodies that constitute the Republic, so it must address not only the immediate economic problem but work at the same time on the permanent solution to the institutional problem that undermines the viability of the democratic system. Meanwhile The National Council of Private Enterprise (CONEP) agreed to take concrete actions that lead to safeguarding the rule of law, “We will try to achieve a coalition country with the organized and representative sectors that guarantee structural changes that lead us to once again have confidence in democratic institutions,” said the business association, which declared itself in permanent session. The Panama Chapter of Transparency International,(TI) said that the very serious situation facing the Administration of Justice., “is added to a long list of irregularities that have completely eroded citizen confidence in the institutions of justice.” TI said that the scandal that involving the prosecutor and Judges De León and José Ayú Prado, cannot be faced by the Judicial Organ since it lacks the necessary integrity and ethical structures https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/businessmen-call-for-coalition-to-face-panama-crisis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted August 18, 2018 Moderators Share Posted August 18, 2018 Quote Supreme Court president lying – Attorney General Posted on August 17, 2018 in Panama Post Views: 192 Minutes after Panama’s interim Supreme Court president, Hernán De León appeared on television, on Thursday, August 16 to deny that he had been wiretapped and blackmailed in a plot to foil the prosecution of former president Ricardo Martinelli, the country ’s top prosecutor called him a liar. “I can reaffirm to the country that he is lying and I tell him so in a direct and frontal way,” Attorney General, Kenia Porcell, told media gathered outside of her office. The accusation came after De León in a TVN taped interview denied for a third time in a week that he has evidence that there is a recording against him and that there is no pressure, extortion or blackmail to favor former President Ricardo Martinelli, currently prosecuted by the Supreme Court reports La Prensa. Porcell said that she complied “with informing the country of a reality, “objective, dangerous and delicate” that the judge confided to her when he visited her office on July 30 to tell her that he was recorded and that several judges intended to “knock down” the process against Martinelli for alleged embezzlement and crimes against inviolability. of secrecy and the right to privacy. She urged De León to assume his responsibility as a public servant public, because “information is being stored that can affect 5,000 more people”. “I’m worried that he missed the opportunity of his life and should have told the country with sincerity what has been said “she said. Questioned about why she considered De Leon denied the recording, Porcell replied: “Maybe he’s afraid … that’s why he denies it.” In the TVN News, interview De León reiterated that he has not received any pressure and that there is evidence that there is a compromising recording against him. He said he does not intend to declare himself impeded in the Martinelli wiretapping case, as requested by the complainants in the process. The group of victims also requested on Thursday that the alternate judges Efrén Telloy Asunción Alonso recuse themselves from the case. After hearing the interview in which he said:”there is no recording, I do not know any no type of recording, of filming, absolutely nothing of my person, nor extortion nor pressure or coercion of any kind” Porcell told waiting journalists “I am sure of what happened in my office and I am going to say it today, tomorrow and always” Porcell addressed the magistrate “as a public servant is keeping information that affects citizens… I urge you to assume your responsibility.” https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/supreme-court-president-lying-attorney-general Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted August 19, 2018 Moderators Share Posted August 19, 2018 Quote Panama’s top judge challenged to polygraph test Posted on August 18, 2018 in Panama Hernan De Leon, true or false? Post Views: 106 The TV interview given by, the interim president of Panama’s Supreme Court in response to his confession of alleged blackmail relating to the wiretapping trial of Ricardo Martinelli left more questions than answers according to civil society Carlos Lee, of the Citizens Alliance for Justice, told La Estrella that the magistrate “should have kept quiet” because his words show that he has no capacity to clarify conclusively the public accusations made by Attorney Generall Kenia Porcell who revealed details of a conversation with De León. Porcell said De Leon told her that the ‘RM’ [Martinelli] case is tangled and “is going to fall”, and ”we are going to cancel” and that he had been recorded to exert pressure. De León, said on TVN that he has no proof that there is a recording and that there is no pressure, extortion or blackmail to favor Ricardo Martinelli. Porcell had announced that the magistrate told her that this case “was going to fall,” and it was going to be annulled : … “They recorded me, they recorded me,” he said repeatedly as if to indicate that he was a victim of blackmail Porcell said. De León would not go into details of the conversation but made it clear that it is the word of one against that of another. “I do not know of recording, there is no recording, no pressure, no extortion or coercion” to favor the ex-president, he said in an exclusive interview on TVN. But he has avoided answering questions from other media outlets. Porcell quickly hit back and said: “He is lying,” and called for De Leon to submit to a polygraph test. For Lee, the magistrate’s answers create greater confusion in the public mind and are far from clarifying the accusations of the attorney general, because he does not deny what happened, and it also leaves the Plenary of the Court wrong footed which must demand that its president clarify directly Porcell’s statements about him. Dionisio Rodríguez, president of the National Bar Association, said that the presiding magistrate “spoke a lot and said little. There were many doubts about the prosecutor’s version. The president of the guild of lawyers considers that, beyond the stones and arrows of Porcell and De León, the administration of justice and the people suffer most because the complaint that was filed to investigate an alleged crime of inviolability of secrecy could be closed because it was ”unfair” or because of the “lack of suitable proof” because the victim has said that he has no knowledge of having been wiretapped.. In Rodríguez’s opinion, everything will remain as “a great legal squabble”. Annette Planells. of the Independent Movement for Panama (Movin), said there is total mistrust in the administration of justice. “There is too much turbidity around the Court …” President Juan Carlos Varela, , said that the country has the ability to move forward on the proposal of business associations to create a citizen coalition to recover the country’s institutions from the crisis facing the administration of justice. “Everyone should be concerned about this area,” said Varela “Panama has its own capacity to improve its Judicial System, Legislative and Executive Body … democracy has to keep moving forward and strengthening its institutions.” https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/panamas-top-judge-challenged-to-polygraph-test Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted August 20, 2018 Moderators Share Posted August 20, 2018 Quote Business leaders call for common front to avoid Panama chaos Posted on August 19, 2018 in Panama Post Views: 138 Panama ’s current judicial crisis is an embarrassment to the nation and united action is needed to avoid the country falling into chaos said Panama’s Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (Cciap) on Sunday, August 19. The statement refers to a meeting between Attorney General Prosecutor Kenia Porcell and the presiding magistrate of the Supreme Court Hernán De León. According to Porcell, the magistrate confessed he was the object of alleged “blackmail” because of a recording of that would be used to coerce and “knock down” the wiretapping case against former President Ricardo Martinelli. “The latest scandal embarrasses the country” and creates an institutional crisis said the Cciap press release. “At times like this, it is necessary that the best wills of the nation look for the most advisable solutions before chaos ends up imposing itself.” The Chamber said that there is an “inability of the administration to arbitrate the answers demanded in this critical hour for Panama ” to recover the lost stability in the country and avoid “the collapse of the scaffolding” For this reason, Cciap said that together with other representative bodies of the private sector, it will work to implement a common front to propose formulas that “lead us to restore credibility and trust in the country’s institutions “ https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/business-leaders-call-for-common-front-to-avoid-panama-chaos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted August 27, 2018 Moderators Share Posted August 27, 2018 Quote Moves to resolve Panama justice crisis Posted on August 26, 2018 in Panama Supreme Court Post Views: 125 The Committee for the Modernization of the State Justice and Public Security was activated on Friday, August 24, to analyze the crisis in Panama ’s justice system, following revelations by Attorney General, Kenia Porcell. The committee drew a roadmap that, that according to chairman Enrique de Obarrio, will be developed at “different speeds because there are things more urgent than others”. The first action that was agreed was to ask, Labor Minister Luis Ernesto Carles, to write to the Supreme Court, the National Assembly, and the Executive. The letter to the Plenary of the Court of would reiterate the call to its interim president Hernán De León, to render a report on the statements of the Attorney General as he has not responded to earlier public requests. A letter to the National Assembly will ask for the ratification of the substitute magistrates of the Supreme Court, and the Executive will be asked to assign replacements for Jerónimo Mejía and Oyden Ortega, whose terms expired on December 31. but the Assembly rejected President Varela’s two previous designations De Obarrio said the committee, will also push for the Special Committee of Notables on constitutional reforms to resume as a matter of urgency. The National Agreement for Development is the ideal forum to address the issues of the State, in this case, the crisis of justice said De Obarrio. Last week, the body demanded that the truth be known about the statements of the prosecutor Porcell, who revealed, on August 13 a conversation with Judge De León in which he confessed that he was being “pushed” and that the wiretapping case against President Ricardo Martinelli “was going to fall.” https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/moves-to-resolve-justice-crisis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted September 1, 2018 Moderators Share Posted September 1, 2018 Quote Anti-corruption prosecutor stands in as Attorney General links with China Posted on August 31, 2018 in Panama Zuleyka Moore Post Views: 52 Special Superior Anticorruption Prosecutor Zuleyka Moore has taken over as Attorney General while the incumbent, Kenia Porcell, is on an official mission with Senior Prosecutors in the People’s Republic of China. Moore had been chosen by the Executive as a Supreme Court judge, but her appointment was blocked by the National Assembly. The Public Ministry reported that Porcell is holding bilateral meetings in China, “to work against transnational organized crime, and corruption.” Before leaving last week Porcell said that her trip would also serve to follow up on pending requests for legal assistance related to the “Blue Apple” and “New Business” cases, aimed at identifying the traceability of financial transactions and recover public money diverted abroad. Prominent members of Ricardo Marinelli’s inner circle figure in both investigations, particularly “New Business,” which acquired the Epasa publishing group giving Martinelli control of Panama America and Critica https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/anti-corruption-prosecutor-stands-in-as-attorney-general-links-with-china Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted September 13, 2018 Moderators Share Posted September 13, 2018 Quote Panama's Attorney General requests more resources to expedite legal proceedings Wed, 09/12/2018 - 17:42 Panama's Attorney General, Kenia Porcell, today requested a revision to the 134 million dollar budget assigned to the entity for 2019, since more resources are required to expedite more than 55.00 proceedings of the Adversarial Criminal System (SPA). Porcell referred to the issue in the budget outlook of 2019 for 134 million dollars before the legislative budget committee, and said that this amount recommended by the Ministry of Economy and Finance "does not allow to respond according to society demands"; therefore, she had requested 198.8 million dollars. This was announced by the Public Prosecutor's Office (MP) on Twitter. The attorney general assured the deputies of the Budget Committee that cases of domestic violence are the crimes that are mostly dealt with in the different facilities of the Public Prosecutor's Office, notes a statement from the National Assembly (AN, Parliament). Porcell also explained the need to invest in own buildings as a way to end rent payments and thus obtain significant savings in this matter. Among the achievements this year, the prosecutor mentioned the construction and establishment of the first regional unit of the Adversarial Criminal System in the Caribbean province of Colón, which she described as an infrastructure model to replicate in the rest of the country. José Vicente Pachar, head of the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences, also supported the budget for 2019, for 42,192,697 dollars. Pachar said that with these resources the construction of the new judicial morgue of Panama and the availability of other two in the districts of La Chorrera and Chepo is envisioned, as well as the implementation of the Institutional Development Plan, which will have its own buildings, reads the AN statement. https://www.panamatoday.com/panama/panamas-attorney-general-requests-more-resources-expedite-legal-proceedings-7826 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted October 18, 2018 Moderators Share Posted October 18, 2018 Quote Attorney General faces media scrum Posted on October 17, 2018 in Panama Post Views: 74 Attorney General, Kenia Porcell answered questions on Wednesday, October 17, about the hiring of law firms by the presidency to provide services to the State in various processes followed for the possible commission of property crimes. “Anyone who knows the Prosecutor knows that since day one I do not follow instructions from anyone,” she told reporters. Porcell said that all tests are carried out in the presence of the parties. “If a defense does not agree with what is in the file, it can make use of all the incidents” or it can also request that it be re-done or the test annulled. “With the aggressiveness that the defense has shown in these four years, I want to know defense did not raise it [the alleged concerns] Regarding the journalistic notes in which they mention it, she said that they were “a rehash”. For “that Refry they denounced me”, Why does it abstain from giving more details on the matter. The complaint is in the office of the Attorney General, Rigoberto González. Last week, the Presidency of the Republic issued a statement in which it emphasized that the hiring of law firms was “necessary and indispensable”. Among the firms hired to file complaints, complaints and lawsuits are the Panamanian Saltarín Arias and Legal Auditors; Tapia, Linares, and Alfaro; Arias, Fábrega and Fábrega; Icaza, González Ruiz and Alemán, and Morgan & Morgan, as well as the foreigners Hogan Lovells; Shearman & Sterling, and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, among others. https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/attorney-general-responds-to-media-attack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted November 17, 2018 Moderators Share Posted November 17, 2018 Quote Supreme Court judges fingered in pay-off allegations Posted on November 16, 2018 in Panama Supreme Court Judges Ortega amd De Leon Post Views: 183 The Public Prosecutor has opened an investigation into alleged corruption involving two Supreme Court judges following complaints from Chiriqui businessman César Alvarado Taylor who confesses that he paid out $40,000 to get a favorable court ruling and spoke for more than four years with the son of Supreme Court Judge Oydén Ortega. to negotiate a ruling in his favor. Alvarado Taylor confirmed on Wednesday, November 15, everything he presented in complaints he to the National Assembly (where they were filed) and to the Public Prosecutor’s Office. In an interview with La Prensa, Alvarado Taylor reiterated that Oydén Ortega Collado -the son of Court magistrate Oydén Ortega Durán- asked for money in exchange for the admission of a cassation appeal related to a lawsuit over the sale of eight farms in 2002. Initially, he informed César Alvarado that it would cost $15,000 to admit the appeal and involve Judge Hernán De León. La Prensa was shown details of conversations with Ortega Jr., which reveal how he asked for money, so that the file, which was initially in the hands of ex-magistrate Harley Mitchell, remained in the hands of Ortega Durán, and the key intervention of the interim president of the Court, Hernán De León. He confessed that, in total, he gave them about $40,000 including the initial $15,000 and money for “travel”. He said that that the magistrate’s son told him: “I’m going to Orlando, so help me with something. Claudia [Purcait, secretary of magistrate Ortega] is going to see her sister in New York, and will be gone for a month so she needs you to help her.” For each trip, he said he gave them $2,000 or $3,000. Everything became nonnegotiable when according to Ortega Jr. De León asked for $ 250,000 to rule in his favor. “They told me that I was winning [the ruling] and that Hernán De León said that the other people had already offered $ 250,000, At that time Alvarado Taylor decided to file the complaint in the Assembly. In this case, the Public Ministry is investigating the alleged commission of the crime of corruption. reports La Prensa. Meanwhile, for the second time, the Supreme Court decided not to comment on the thorny issue. Alvarado Taylor reiterated yesterday that every week he spoke personally with Ortega Collado. “I went every Tuesday [to Ortega’s gym]. From 2013 to 2017. … I was desperate”. Alvarado Taylor showed La Prensa the record of the conversations about the negotiation for the payment of the procedure, among other things. “And you had to give it [the money]. It’s not that I went to give it. It was that they asked me. And there it is in the chats. They always communicated with [Hernán de Leon Alvarado, even, tells that when he met with the son of the magistrate, he called De León through a “little phone that does not have chats”. Asked when he decided to file a complaint with the National Assembly. Alvardo Taylor said: “When I saw that I could not pay the $250 000 and hen they told t me that I won [the merits of the case] and that Hernán De León said that the other people had already offered $250,000 and if I didn’t pay they would change it. “. How much money had he paid them at that time? Alvarado says that every so often they asked for $2,000 or $3,000 for trips or other matters. They told him: “so help me with something. ” And so, they asked and asked.” The MP is investigating the supposed commission of the crime of server corruption. Ortega Collado and ClaudiaPurcait are targeted. At an activity of the Confucius Institute, the magistrate Ortega avoided the topic the topic: and told La Pensa “My honesty is not in doubt”, “everything is false”. “It’s a business in which sentences are sold to the highest bidder.” Said Linda Watt, former US ambassador Panama, who in a report she sent to Washington on July 22, 2005, informing her peers about how justice operated on the isthmus. “A supremely corrupt Court corrodes not only the Judicial Body itself but also the Legislature and the Executive, corrupting society itself,” Watt said in the message that was leaked by Wikileaks. https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/supreme-court-judges-fingered-in-pay-off-allegations Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted August 3, 2019 Moderators Share Posted August 3, 2019 Quote Cortizo would not fire Attorney General “under any circumstances” PORCELL'S job not in danger Posted 02/08/2019 Panama president Laurentino Cortizo, said on Friday, August 2 has no intention of removing Attorney General Kenia Porcell from office “under any circumstances” and any problems can be resolved through communication. The statement came on Friday, August 2, just two days after Security Minister Rolandon Mirones, accompanied by the National Police Chief and the head of the DIJ (investigation unit), met with Porcell, following her complaint that major corruption investigations had been impeded by the transferor sending on prolonged vacation of key investigation personnel. Cortizo said that whenever time is needed to talk, solutions that will benefit the country will be obtained "Under no circumstances would I do it,[fire Porcell]" he said https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/cortizo-would-not-fire-attorney-general-under-any-circumstances Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted August 29, 2019 Moderators Share Posted August 29, 2019 Quote New investigation of Attorney General opened Kenia Porcell Posted 28/08/2019 A new ex officio investigation of Panama’s Attorney General, Kenia Porcell was opened last week said The Attorney General of the Administration, Rigoberto González on Wednesday, August 28 According to González, the investigation began after the new revelations that the lawyer of the Odebrecht company Rodrigo Tacla Durán would have given. González said that a request has been made to the General Secretariat of the Office of the Attorney General to respond to what they are requesting, referring to the “ judicial assistance that was previously made before the Kingdom of Spain, referring to the statements of this man ”. He also stressed that already in 2017 an ex officio investigation had been done and at the time it was closed because according to the investigations, it was possible to prove that some of the things he had claimed were not true. He added that since then Duran has returned to the media and a video has been released, then the Office of the Attorney General has reopened the Odebrecht case. Tacla Durán said he has “ elements ” referring to the case, of which they were aware, but were not taken into account by the Public Ministry. Recently Deputy Zulay Rodrigez visited Duran in Spain. https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/new-investigation-of-attorney-general-opened Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted September 30, 2019 Moderators Share Posted September 30, 2019 Quote Martinelli legal team complaint against prosecutor filed Kenia Porcell Posted 29/09/2019 The administration attorney general, Rigoberto González , has filed a complaint filed against the prosecutor Kenia Porcell, for the statements she made on July 19, that anti-corruption prosecutors were being dismantled, because staff of the Directorate of Judicial Investigation (DIJ) that collaborates with prosecutors in cases related to high-profile corruption, had been sent on vacation. Attorney Gonzalez, who is empowered to investigate the head of the Public Prosecutor's Office, concluded that it was not possible to prove that Porcell committed a crime with her statements. Consequently, he ordered the case to be provisionally filed. Porcell had been denounced for the alleged commission of crimes against public administration and against the administration of justice. The legal action was filed on July 23, 2019, by lawyers Roniel Ortiz, Jessica Canto and Shirley Castañeda of the legal team of former president Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014) and by Kevin Moncada https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/martinelli-legal-team-complaint-against-prosecutor-filed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.