Former Costa Rican president appeals prison sentence
On Wednesday, ex-President Miguel Ángel Rodríguez, 71, appealed a 5-year prison sentence on a corruption charge, handed down on April 27.
Rodríguez’s lawyer, Rafael Gairaud, told the daily La Nación that a verbal appeal was filed during the hearing of a full verdict of the case. Rodríguez was found guilty of “instigating corruption” in a telecommunications deal involving the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) and French company Alcatel, now Alcatel-Lucent. The former president, who also briefly served as secretary general of the Organization of American States, was found not guilty of a separate charge of illegal enrichment. Several other co-defendants were found guilty of various corruption charges and received prison terms ranging from 18 months to 15 years (TT, April 29).
Gairaud also said the verbal appeal is just a complementary action before filing a formal appeal before the Supreme Court.
If the case is not overturned, Gairaud said he would bring the case before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
You may be interested

Costa Rica coronavirus updates for Tuesday, January 19
The Tico Times - January 19, 2021Costa Rica registered 958 new cases of Covid-19 on Saturday, January 16; 508 on Sunday, January 17; 363 on Monday,…

Costa Rica honors U.S. Ambassador as term ends
The Tico Times - January 19, 2021The Foreign Ministry of Costa Rica this week awarded United States Ambassador Sharon Day at the conclusion of her diplomatic…

Reminder: How to enter for an all-expenses-paid vacation to Costa Rica
Alejandro Zúñiga - January 19, 2021Costa Rica is offering all-expenses-paid vacations for U.S. and Canadian residents who found life’s essentials during what has been a…