Ex-Panama President Martinelli hospitalized before hearing
Ex-Panama President Martinelli hospitalized before hearing
Updated 4:11 pm CDT, Tuesday, July 10, 2018
PANAMA CITY (AP) — The family and lawyers for former Panama President Ricardo Martinelli called again on Tuesday for his release from jail after he was hospitalized for a second time since his extradition from the United States last month.
A judge suspended a hearing Tuesday at which Martinelli was supposed to appear.
His wife, Marta de Martinelli, said he was hospitalized Monday evening with high blood pressure and other problems. She said the stress of pre-trial confinement and the hearings are jeopardizing his health.
So far the courts have not agreed to free him pending trial.
Martinelli was president from 2009 to 2014 and is facing charges of illegally intercepting communications and embezzlement among others. He denies any wrongdoing.
https://www.chron.com/news/world/article/Ex-Panama-President-Martinelli-hospitalized-13064040.php
Former President Martinelli's Wikipedia:
Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Berrocal, GColIH (born March 11, 1952) is a Panamanian politician and businessman who was the 36th President of Panama from 2009 to 2014. In May 2017, Interpol issued a red notice (request for international arrest) for the extradition of Ricardo Martinelli, installed in Miami. Panamanian justice accuses the former president of having spied on telephone conversations of about 150 people, including journalists and leaders of the opposition. He is also suspected of embezzlement on a $45 million contract to purchase food for schools. Martinelli was arrested in Miami by U.S. Marshals on June 12, 2017 to face extradition to Panama. He was extradited to Panama on June 11, 2018 to face the wiretapping charges.[1]
Early life
Born in Panama City, Ricardo Martinelli is the son of Ricardo Martinelli Pardini and Gloria Berrocal Fabrega.[2] His father is of Italian descent, and his mother is of Spanish descent.[3] He completed his secondary education at Staunton Military Academy in Staunton, Virginia, in the United States. In 1973 he graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Arkansas.[4]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricardo_Martinelli
