SIP has denounced that the judicial harassment and prosecution of Panamanian journalists threaten the freedom of the press

There Inter-American Press Association (SIP) denounced on Tuesday the judicial harassment to journalists from Panama for him abuse claims against youfollowing the request of the former president Ricardo Martinelli seize media assets.

The organization criticized in a statement “the continued abuse of defamation lawsuits against Panamanian media and journalists and preemptive seizure of their assets as intimidation and gag mechanisms.

The IAPA, which groups American newspapers, made the statement six days after a judge, at the request of Martinelli, ordered the seizure of the digital media’s assets Focus and people close to this critical portal of the former right-wing president (2009-2014).

Panamanian law allows the seizure of property even without a court order.

Although for various reasons Martinelli’s lawyers were unsuccessful in the kidnappings, they confiscated property from the former home of the director of Focus and the residence of their children.

“It’s only It’s one more way to intimidate. Martinelli asks that the corruption charges that have been brought against him not be reported“, he told the news agency AFP Mauricio ValenzuelaDirector of Focus.

“Judicial harassment in Panama remains the main threat to press freedomsaid the IAPA president, Michael Greenponwho laments “the the abuse of prosecutions as an instrument of intimidation and discouragement of critical media and journalists”.

There American Embassy He also expressed his “concern” at the “attacks” against the press in Panama for this same affair.

“We view with concern the attacks on the media in Panama, which are part of an alarming trend. When the law is used to intimidate the media, citizens are deprived of their right to be informed,” the US embassy in the country warned on Twitter.

Martinelli, who intends to be a presidential candidate in 2024, justified the legal action against the media.

“When you are asked all kinds of false, tendentious, malicious questions, you must reactr, what do we do, does he turn the other cheek? Rangefinder.

Various political leaders and journalists’ unions have criticized these actions of the former leader.

Martinelli and two of his sons are charged in Panama for collecting bribes from the Brazilian construction company Odebrechtin addition to other corruption scandals.

January 25 The United States barred Martinelli and his family from enteringthe same day the two sons returned to Panama after serving time in the North American country for taking bribes from Odebrecht.

His sons pleaded guilty to receiving $28 million in commissions, for which they served time in the United States. His defense pointed against the former president, whom he accused of inciting them to commit the crimes. In January, they were released from prison and returned to their country.

Panama’s judiciary had assured that the brothers would go to prison upon their return, after a court rejected their lawyers’ requests to “suspend the arrest warrant” against them.

“The Public Ministry expects a lot from these two people (…) in the face of the criminal responsibility attributed to them,” Panama’s chief prosecutor Javier Caraballo said on Tuesday.

But one of his lawyers claimed that The Martinelli brothers ‘cannot be detained’ in Panama because they each paid seven million dollars in bail: two million for the Odebrecht affair and five million for the “Blue Apple” affair.

(With information from AFP and EFE)

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