Mulino lawyers will use agreement as evidence in court

A request to have a certified copy of the agreement between the Panamanian government and the Italian company Finmeccanica was formally presented Monday by lawyers of former Minister of Security Jose Raul Mulino.

Ramses Barrera, who led the legal representation of Mulino said that this document is required to be presented as evidence at an upcoming hearing that hold the former Minister Mulino by the case of radars.

He said that with the fact that the Government, through the ambassador of Panama in Italy, Fernando Berguido, has signed the agreement, admits that the contract is legitimate.

According to Barrera, this contrasts with the investigation against Mulino, which keeps detained for four months.

Said Barrera, that the contract was the basis of criminal investigations against Mulino and former head of the Security Council Alexander Garuz.

Judicial cooperation

Under the agreement, a mutual judicial cooperation between Panama and Italy, relating to criminal proceedings that take place in both countries was established.

Ramses Barrera described this action as favorable to his client, because to Mulino was imprisoned without there being a technical report vouch for the failure of the radar.

"I feel healthy, because that may provide technical tests on radar and efficiency," Barrera said.
For this reason, it considers the expert opinion of Finmeccanica will clarify the investigations carried out the Public Ministry.

Barrera said that investigations conducted by the Public Ministry, which ended with a fiscal view, supported in reports that officers give the National Air Service (Senan), who credited who are not experts in radar.

Another important elements that are embodied in the agreement, is the fact that the seven radars stay in Panama, arguing that they work properly.

Barrera said that the quality of the radar is good to the extent that they are used by the Panama Canal Authority.
"This agreement shows that there was any criminal intent on the part of our client," the lawyer Ramses Barrera.

The transparency law establishes a period of 30 days for the Chancellery deliver the copy of the file.

The request was made before the Chancellor Isabel De Saint Malo, as the direct head of Fernando Berguido ambassador, who was the architect of the agreement between the country and the company Finmeccanica.

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Expediente

• Proceso

• El caso fue investigado por la Fiscalía Tercera Anticorrupción y concluyó con una solicitud de llamamiento a juicio contra José Raúl Mulino y Alejandro Garuz, ambos funcionarios del gobierno anterior.

• Abogados

• La solicitud de obtener copia del acuerdo entre Panamá y Finmeccanica, a juicio de Ramsés Barrera, es una prueba contundente para demostrar que no existe delito en las investigaciones que se realizaron por el caso de los radares.

• Especialista

• Una de las debilidades de la investigación en el caso de los radares, comenta Ramsés Barrera, es el hecho de que no existió una opinión idónea sobre la operatividad de los radares, al admitir que en el Senan no había persona especialista en la materia.