Panama court orders detention of ex-president

Panama's Supreme Court on Monday ordered the detention of former President Ricardo Martinelli to face charges that he allegedly used public money to illegally spy on opponents.

The supermarket magnate is accused of illegally intercepting the communications of 150 people during his 2009 to 2014 administration.

He's been stripped of his immunity from prosecution in the case, as well as in another probe in which aides are accused of inflating contracts to purchase food for a government social program.

The court on Monday upheld a prosecutor's request to order the detention of the 63-year-old Martinelli after a judge declared him in contempt for failing to appear at a hearing.

The provisional detention order "is fully justified because of the evident inattention to the process on the part of the investigated" party, said a resolution read by judge Luis Mario Carrasco.

Martinelli, who fled from Panama in January and is believed to be living in Miami, has been stripped of his immunity from prosecution in the case.

He also faces half a dozen different investigations including into alleged misuse of public funds, financial crimes, taking bribes and giving illegal pardons.

Martinelli has denied the charges. "Like those now detained illegally, I'm a victim of rigged proceedings, of coerced or manufactured witnesses and it is ever more evident the violations to the presumption of innocence and due process," Martinelli said in a letter.

Two of his former security chiefs have also been arrested as part of the case and are awaiting trial.  

In a letter posted on Twitter earlier this month, Martinelli said the accusations against him are part of a revenge campaign spearheaded by President Juan Carlos Varela.

Varela, of the center-right Panamenista Party (PP), helped Martinelli win the presidency in 2009 before the two fell out.

Defense lawyer Rogelio Cruz said in October that Martinelli was innocent of all charges, describing a provisional indictment as "crazy" and calling the process against him "Kafkaesque."

Neither the court nor prosecutors gave details on how Martinelli's detention would be sought, given that he has not been seen in Panama for months.

Wire services