Lawyer Basilio González stated that investigations are initiated at the Public Ministry, and by constitutional mandate, it is the only body empowered to carry out this task.
«No other institution can conduct investigations, unless it is a deputy or the President of the Republic, but in common cases, it is the Public Ministry that has the duty and the right to investigate individuals,» he added.
«As Panamanians, we must strengthen our justice system, but unfortunately, to strengthen it, we must take strong measures, measures that involve making decisions that will 'purge' the Public Ministry,» said González on Nex Noticias.
«And what I tell you is that an investigation that twists the law and directs it towards where the President of the Republic, in this case Juan Carlos Varela, or the Attorney General wants, cannot go far because you did not investigate with objectivity, and objectivity is a fundamental part of justice,» he concluded.
In this sense, he recommended the Attorney General «not to put on a straitjacket,» because in his opinion, Gómez «has the full support of the Panamanian people to be able to make decisions and remove those people who do so much harm to the Public Ministry.»
He recalled that the Parallel Prosecutor's Office was real and that its officials followed a script.
He also pointed out that during the five-year term of President Juan Carlos Varela and Attorney General Kenia Porcell, there was what González defined as a «garulilla,» that is, «a small group of prosecutors who did what they wanted and twisted the law.»
Lawyer Basilio González believes that Panama must strengthen its justice system, and to achieve this, it is necessary to take strong measures that lead to a cleanup within the Public Ministry.
Regarding the dismissal of the former anti-corruption prosecutor Zuleyka Moore, he stated that «there was a network that combined this person representing Movín with the Public Ministry.»
According to González, the current Attorney General Luis Gómez and the President of the Republic José Raúl Mulino took office without ties, as they did not have campaign donors, they are not beholden to political parties as such, but rather «they come with their hands open.»
And it was Moore who was dismissed by then Attorney General of the Nation Javier Caraballo; subsequently, the former prosecutor appealed to the Third Administrative Litigation Chamber, which ruled that her dismissal was legal.
