Asylum Granted to Colombia’s ex-Intelligence Chief is ‘Unconstitutional’: Panama Supreme Court
Asylum Granted to Colombia’s ex-Intelligence Chief is ‘Unconstitutional’: Panama Supreme Court
May 29, 2014 posted by Philip Acuña
Panama’s Supreme Court has announced that the political asylum granted to Colombia’s former intelligence chief is unconstitutional, La Prensa news reported Thursday.
With a vote of 8-1, the country’s supreme court ruled that political asylum granted to Maria del Pilar Hurtado, the former head of the now-defunct DAS intelligence agency, is in violation of the country’s constitution.
According to the El Espectador newspaper, Colombia’s Prosecutor General’s Office, who was granted the authority to request Hurtado’s extradition yesterday, has not been notified. It is unclear how the Prosecutor General’s Office will proceed.
An initial extradition request was filed by Colombia in 2011, however Panama’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs determined that Hurtado’s extradition “was not viable.”
Hurtado is the former director of the now-defunct DAS intelligence agency, which in 2008 was caught spying on Colombia’s Supreme Court, journalists, human rights defenders and politicians.
More:
http://colombiareports.co/colombia-ex-intelligence-chiefs-asylum-unconstitutional-panama-supreme-court/
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