Concern Brewing Over Executive Power Concentration

The Pro Justice Citizens Alliance has requested that the Interamerican Commission for Human Rights look into what appears to be fusion of the powers of state in Panama.

“It is important that the international community rule on what is happening in Panama,” Magaly Castillo, executive director of the alliance said in a television interview.

The Center for Justice and International Rights has also expressed its concern for what it considers to be a threat to the independence of the Public Ministry, the separation of powers and democracy overall.  The problem is that Attorney General Ana Matilde Gomez was separated of her duties on Friday by a unilateral Supreme Court order and and the executive branch had already named Giuseppe Bonissi as her replacement even though the constitution states that temporary absences should be covered by a Public Ministry official designated by the Attorney General.

Giuseppe Bonissi received his Bachelor in Law and Political Sciences from the University of Panama in 1992 and a Masters in Prosecution Law and Comparative Rights from Madrid’s Complutense University.   He is a corporate lawyer and speaks Spanish, Italian and English, and serves on President Martinelli’s election reforms commission.

A saved copy of a Bonnissi social network profile states that he has a normal complexion, drinks socially, smokes, is pleasant, a good conversationalist and a gentlemen who likes to walk, dance, etc.