Court declares deputy Arquesio Arias not guilty of sexual crimes
Arquesio Arias was found not guilty of crimes against integrity and sexual freedom. The vote was 5-4.
The Supreme Court of Justice issued a verdict declaring Deputy Arquesio Arias not guilty of crimes against integrity and sexual freedom.
The vote was 5-4, and a qualified majority of 6-3 is required for a conviction.
"There is a ruling of the Court of not guilty, a ruling with an unqualified majority, it means that there was not the number of votes necessary for a contrary ruling of guilt, in that sense, as representatives of the victims, we have to say that we We feel with mixed feelings, because certainly all the steps and procedures were complied with and the evidence was brought that was, in our opinion, sufficient, "said attorney Enereida Barrías, representative of the two plaintiffs, upon leaving the hearing.
The Judicial Branch explains in a press release that " regarding the crime of libidinous acts aggravated to the detriment of AML, after three votes, the Oral Trial Court did not reach a qualified majority vote (2/3 parts), to decide the guilt or not guilt of the deputy, and therefore he was not convicted . "
Arquesio Arias was charged with the alleged commission of the crimes of aggravated rape and aggravated libidinous acts in October 2019, after being accused by young people in the Guna Yala region, when he was practicing medicine in the specialty of gynecology.
The oral trial of Deputy Arias, who was being held under a house arrest precautionary measure, began on Wednesday, April 7. The prosecution and the plaintiff presented 76 testimonial, expert, documentary and material evidence, while the technical defense, led by the lawyer Ángel Álvarez, presented two testimonial and two documentary evidence.
This Friday, the Trial Court heard the closing arguments of the Prosecutor's Office, the plaintiff and the technical defense, and subsequently began the deliberation phase.
"Deputy Arias has been declared not guilty of the four charges that were presented ... unable to achieve a qualified majority for a conviction, the unanimous decision of the Plenary of the Supreme Court of Justice is not guilty," reiterated attorney Álvarez.
He expressed that his client is satisfied with the decision. Regarding the possible reasons that could lead the magistrates to this ruling, Álvarez said "the decisions need to be documented through a resolution that will be issued within the term established by the Law by the Plenary of the Court, and I do not want to anticipate exposing the reasons that the Court is responsible for explaining about its decision, however, it has highlighted inconsistencies, inconsistencies in the versions that were provided by the complainants. "
The Trial Court of this process was made up of justices Luis Ramón Fábrega Sánchez (President), María Eugenia López Arias (Rapporteur), Angela Russo de Cedeño, Otilda Vergara de Valderrama (Alternate Judge), Carlos Alberto Vásquez Reyes, José E. Ayú Prado Canals, Hernán A. De León Batista, Cecilio Cedalise Riquelme, and Miguel A. Espino González (Alternate Judge).
The vote was 5-4, and a qualified majority of 6-3 is required for a conviction.
"There is a ruling of the Court of not guilty, a ruling with an unqualified majority, it means that there was not the number of votes necessary for a contrary ruling of guilt, in that sense, as representatives of the victims, we have to say that we We feel with mixed feelings, because certainly all the steps and procedures were complied with and the evidence was brought that was, in our opinion, sufficient, "said attorney Enereida Barrías, representative of the two plaintiffs, upon leaving the hearing.
The Judicial Branch explains in a press release that " regarding the crime of libidinous acts aggravated to the detriment of AML, after three votes, the Oral Trial Court did not reach a qualified majority vote (2/3 parts), to decide the guilt or not guilt of the deputy, and therefore he was not convicted . "
Arquesio Arias was charged with the alleged commission of the crimes of aggravated rape and aggravated libidinous acts in October 2019, after being accused by young people in the Guna Yala region, when he was practicing medicine in the specialty of gynecology.
The oral trial of Deputy Arias, who was being held under a house arrest precautionary measure, began on Wednesday, April 7. The prosecution and the plaintiff presented 76 testimonial, expert, documentary and material evidence, while the technical defense, led by the lawyer Ángel Álvarez, presented two testimonial and two documentary evidence.
This Friday, the Trial Court heard the closing arguments of the Prosecutor's Office, the plaintiff and the technical defense, and subsequently began the deliberation phase.
"Deputy Arias has been declared not guilty of the four charges that were presented ... unable to achieve a qualified majority for a conviction, the unanimous decision of the Plenary of the Supreme Court of Justice is not guilty," reiterated attorney Álvarez.
He expressed that his client is satisfied with the decision. Regarding the possible reasons that could lead the magistrates to this ruling, Álvarez said "the decisions need to be documented through a resolution that will be issued within the term established by the Law by the Plenary of the Court, and I do not want to anticipate exposing the reasons that the Court is responsible for explaining about its decision, however, it has highlighted inconsistencies, inconsistencies in the versions that were provided by the complainants. "
The Trial Court of this process was made up of justices Luis Ramón Fábrega Sánchez (President), María Eugenia López Arias (Rapporteur), Angela Russo de Cedeño, Otilda Vergara de Valderrama (Alternate Judge), Carlos Alberto Vásquez Reyes, José E. Ayú Prado Canals, Hernán A. De León Batista, Cecilio Cedalise Riquelme, and Miguel A. Espino González (Alternate Judge).