|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Panama High Court Issues Detention Order For Former President
By Samuel Miller
Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, North America and Oceania
PANAMA CITY, Panama — On Monday, Panama’s Supreme Court ordered the detention of former President Ricardo Martinelli to face charges that he allegedly used public money to illegally spy on opponents. Martinelli insisted on Tuesday that he’s being targeted politically, and will stay outside the country while fighting charges.
The case is one of a half-dozen investigations against the 63-year-old supermarket magnate for alleged corruption.
The Panama Supreme Court upheld a prosecutor’s request to order the detention of Martinelli after a judge declared him in contempt for failing to appear at a hearing.
In a resolution read by Judge Luis Mario Carrasco, the provisional detention order was stated as being ” fully justified because of the evident inattention to the process on the part of the investigated party.”
The Panama Electoral Tribunal in April rescinded Martinellli’s immunity, which is afforded to all ex-presidents in Panama. The Panama Supreme Court had requested Martinelli’s immunity be lifted after unanimously voting in January to appoint a special prosecutor and begin the corruption probe.
Martinelli, who oversaw a public works boom and Latin America’s fastest economic growth in recent years, fled Panama in January and is believed to be living in Miami.
Despite his initial popularity, his administration was tainted by allegations of corruption. Martinelli is accused of using public funds to illegally spy on more than 150 prominent people. Among those he allegedly spied on are trade union activists, politicians, lawyers, doctors and business people. Investigators said the wiretaps were carried out by members of Panama’s National Security Council.
On Monday, Martinelli denied the charges. “Like those now detained illegally, I’m a victim of rigged proceedings, of coerced or manufactured witnesses and it is ever more evident the violations to the presumption of innocence and due process.”
Martinelli has accused Varela, who once was his vice president, of concocting a case against him in revenge for being fired from his second post as foreign minister two years into the presidency. “I will prove my innocence here because there is no justice over there,” Martinelli said in a statement. “I’ll go if a politically appropriate moment presents itself, or after that tyrant leaves in 2019.”
Martinelli left Panama aboard his private jet in January after the election of archrival Juan Carlos Varela and a day after the Supreme Court took steps to lift his immunity as a current member of the Central American Parliament.
Panama has already filed an Interpol notice for his arrest.
For more information, please see:
ABC News — Panama’s Ex-President Fighting Spying Charges From Abroad – 22 December 2015
Al-Jazeera America — Panama court orders detention of ex-president – 22 December 2015
BBC News — Panama orders arrest of ex-leader Ricardo Martinelli – 22 December 2015
JURIST — Former Panama president detained over illegal spying – 22 December 2015
Reuters — Panama court orders detention of ex-president over spying – 22 December 2015
Tico Times — Panama court orders detention of ex-President Ricardo Martinelli – 22 December 2015
North and South Korea’s Talks on Improving Relations Fail to End in Agreement
By Christine Khamis
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia
SEOUL, South Korea –
Talks between high-level officials of both North and South Korea on December 11 failed to result in an agreement between the two sides. Disagreement between the two Koreas over the most important topic to be discussed apparently led to the standoff.
South Korea wanted to discuss reunification of family members permanently separated by the Korean War, citing its importance as a humanitarian issue. North Korea instead wanted to first discuss the continuance of cross-border tours suspended by South Korea in 2008. South Korea believes that the two issues should not be likened to each other.
During the talks, in which officials of both sides met for the first time in two years, the delegations were unable to reach any type of agreement and did not release a joint statement at the close of the summit. North Korea blames South Korea for the breakdown of the talks between them. According to chief South Korean delegate Hwang Boogi, he offered to resume talks in the future, but North Korea has not shown interest in continuing talks.
North Korea wanted to reach an agreement on the tours during the talks before moving on to discuss the family unification issue. Because it is having financial difficulties, North Korea hoped to resume the cross-border tours, which were halted in 2008 after a South Korea tourist was shot and killed.
South Korea wanted to discuss the family unification issue before any discussion on resuming cross-border tours. South Korea hoped that North Korea would help family members separated by the Korean War locate their family members on the other side and allow them to write to each other. South Korea also wanted to arrange regular reunions between family members so that they can temporarily reunite before they die from old age. While the two sides arranged for temporary reunions between family members this year, South Korea had hoped for further agreements on the issue.
The two Koreas have had especially poor relations since land mines injured two South Korean soldiers at the border in August. The two sides agreed at the time to put a stop to an impending military conflict and agreed to meet for negotiations.
The two sides’ failure to come to an agreement during this month’s talks could signify a further setback in relations between them.
For more information, please see:
International Business Times – South, North Korea Talks Fail? No Agreement Reached, No Further Meeting Dates Set – 12 December 2015
The New York Times – Negotiations Break Down Between Two Koreas – 12 December 2015
Reuters – North, South Korea Talks End Without Agreement – 12 December 2015
The Wall Street Journal – Talks Between North and South Korea End Without Agreement – 12 December 2016
Syria Deeply – Uproar Over Syria Refugees Perfect ‘ISIS Propaganda’
|
Press Release: U.S. Senate Unanimously Passes the Global Magnitsky Act
18 December 2015 – In a ground-breaking move, United States Senate unanimously passed the Global Magnitsky bill. The bill officially called, “S.284 – Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act”, directs the President to sanction human rights violators from anywhere around the world. The specific sanctions are visa bans, asset freezes, and public placement on the US Treasury’s OFAC registry.
“This is the new technology for fighting human rights abuse and an important legacy for Sergei Magnitsky who gave up his life fighting for the truth in Russia,” said Bill Browder, author of “Red Notice”, a book dedicated to Sergei Magnitsky.
In December 2012, the US Congress adopted the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act, which imposes visa and financial sanctions on violators of rights of human rights defenders in Russia.
The bill is named after Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer, who uncovered the largest publicly-known corruption case in Russia involving the theft of $230 million. Sergei Magnitsky testified about it naming complicit Russian officials. He was arrested by some of the implicated officials, held in pre-trial detention for 358 days, and killed in Russian police custody on 16 November 2009. After Sergei Magnitsky’s death, the Russian government promoted and honoured officials involved in his detention and death.
The Global Magnitsky bill was sponsored in the Senate by U.S. Senator Ben Cardin, and had 10 co-sponsors:
Sen Blumenthal, Richard [CT] – 1/28/2015
Sen Coons, Christopher A. [DE] – 7/23/2015
Sen Cruz, Ted [TX] – 2/25/2015
Sen Durbin, Richard [IL] – 1/28/2015
Sen Kirk, Mark Steven [IL] – 1/28/2015
Sen Markey, Edward J. [MA] – 1/28/2015
Sen McCain, John [AZ] – 1/28/2015
Sen Rubio, Marco [FL] – 1/28/2015
Sen Shaheen, Jeanne [NH] – 1/28/2015
Sen Wicker, Roger F. [MS] – 1/28/2015
The next step is for the House of Representatives to consider the bill.
For more information please contact:
Justice for Sergei Magnitsky
+44 207 440 1777
e-mail: info@lawandorderinrussia.org
Twitter: @KatieFisher__