The head of the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for the Prosecution of Administrative Corruption (Pepca), Wilson Camacho, submitted a recuse recourse against two of the three judges of the First Court of the National District that is hearing the US$92 million bribes scandal trial. The recused judges are Tania Yunes and Jissel Naranjo after witness Julián Rojas was excluded from the trial. The judges accepted a request from the defendants’ lawyers. The presiding judge, Gisselle Méndez, gave a dissenting vote. Camacho said the decision by Yunes and Naranjo favors impunity.
Judge Yunes said that, with the exception of this decision, the other decisions by the judges have been taken unanimously. She argued the judges do not attack impunity, but evaluate the evidence of the parties and decide according to the law.
Judge Naranjo said that she rejects the recusal because there has been no irregularity.
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El Dia
2 March 2021