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Panamanian
Court Acquits Officials Involved in Terrorists Release
HAVANA, Cuba, Feb 20 (acn)
A Panamanian court acquitted three former government officials that
had been accused of abuse of authority in the release, five years
ago, of four terrorists, including the infamous Luis Posada
Carriles.
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According to Granma news daily, the court in Panama
City ruled in favor of Arnulfo Escalona, former Minister of
Government and Justice; Carlos Bares, ex National Police Chief; and
Javier Tapia, former Deputy Director of the Migration Office.
Panamanian lawyers accused the former officials of alleged abuse of
authority for releasing the four terrorists before the presidential
pardon was announced.
The pardon granted by former president Mireya Moscoso benefited four
notorious terrorists: Luis Posada Carriles, Pedro Remon, Guillermo
Novo and Gaspar Jimenez, who were then serving a sentence of eight
years for illegal possession of explosives, forgery, and crimes
against public safety.
The four criminals were arrested in 2000 after a failed attempt to
assassinate former Cuban President Fidel Castro during an
Iberoamerican Summit of heads of state and government that was
taking place in the Panamanian capital.
Luis Posada Carriles is responsible for a long list of criminal
actions that include the 1976 mid-air bombing of a Cuban airliner
that killed all 73 people on board.
In 2008, the Supreme Court of Panama revoked the pardons granted by
Moscoso saying that they were unconstitutional.
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