The Sixth Sentencing Judge of San Salvador ordered to suspend the hearing where the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) sought to incorporate more evidence into the bonus process being followed against the former President of the Republic, Salvador Sánchez Cerén, and five other former officials.
The judge determined that it was “impertinent” and that there was also no representation from the defendants’ lawyers.
It was explained that an attempt was made to locate each of the defendants’ lawyers, but some excused themselves saying that they could not participate in that hearing because they would be in other processes and others said that they were outside of El Salvador.
At the hearing, the FGR sought to admit a series of documents from the financial and banking status of Sánchez Cerén and his former private secretary, Manuel Melgar.
It was learned that the Prosecutor’s Office tried to incorporate this evidence in the Third Investigative Court, but it was declared “impertinent”, so it would be impossible for these documents to be discussed in the trial that will take place from August 20 to 30 in the Isidro Menéndez Judicial Center.
Gerson Martínez, former Minister of Public Works, is prosecuted with Salvador Sánchez Cerén; Lina Pohl, former Minister of the Environment; Manuel Melgar, former private secretary; Guillermo López, former president of the Autonomous Executive Port Commission (CEPA) and the former Minister of Labor, Calixto Mejía Hernández.
Of them, only Calixto Mejía is in El Salvador and enjoys alternative measures to provisional detention. The rest are fugitives from Salvadoran justice.
It is said that they received money from the secret allocation of the State of the Presidential House during the five-year term of the former president, Mauricio Funes.
Salvador Sánchez Cerén is charged with $530,000; to Gerson Martínez $290,000; to Calixto Mejía $208,000; to Lina Pohl $177,000 and the amount for Manuel Melgar is not detailed.
In that same case, Violeta Menjívar, Erlinda Hándal, Carlos Cáceres and Hugo Flores were already convicted, who underwent an abbreviated trial and were therefore sentenced to three years in prison, which were replaced by public utility work.
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