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COSTA RICA |
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Calderón,
Guilty or Innocent?
It has been a long 10 months, but the day
has finally come when, former president,
Rafael Angel Calderón, and the rest of the
country, will finally know his guilt or
innocence.
At 2:30pm today, amid tight security, the
three judges of the Tribunal Segundo
Circuito Judicial de Goicoechea will begin
the "reading of the sentence", the phase of
the trial where the court has to give to the
accused and the public their decision and
explain the reasons behind their decision.
Former president Calderón and seven others
will be sitting in the usual seat they have
occupied for the last ten months, this time
however, not listening to testimony and
arguments presented by lawyers by both
sides, but the words of the judges that have
kept silence all this time.
The decision by the judges is either of
guilt or innocence. Either way the process
will in now be over.
Both sides of the argument are sure to
appeal whatever decision is handed down and
not to their liking.
In Costa Rica the process of a trial goes
through many faces. Skipping ahead to today,
the reading of the sentence is not the final
phase, it is only the beginning of the end
game, where the judges, after the oral
presentation, must make their written
presentation to the parties, which then can
make their arguments in favour or against
decision.
Let us explain. In Costa Rica there is no
form of appeal as it is the case in North
American trials. No, the next step in the
process is for the Sala de Casación, a
separate court from the trial tribunal - to
hear arguments on the written decision of
the judges.
The Sala will, after hearing the arguments,
decide that the trial judges were correct in
their decision and ratify the sentence or
decide to send the case back to the
Tribunal, which will then have to have a new
trial. The Sala process alone can take
years.
So, what happens to the accused in the
meantime? Do they go free? Well, yes and no,
depending on the sentence. Traditionally the
accused, if found guilty, are held in
preventive detention if the sentences is a
long one and/or there is the risk of flight
or avoiding incarceration. So, in effect,
Calderón and all could spend tonight behind
bars.
As Walter Reiche, one of the accused, said
this morning on national television, they
all know what they are going into, as each
of the eight accused have already spent time
in a jail in relation to this case. In the
case of Calderón, he spend several months in
a secluded cell at the La Reforma after his
was arrested. The others spending time in
different jails and prisons until released
on bail.
Today's decision by the judges will not only
affect the eight accused, but also the
future of the Partido Unidad Social
Cristiana (PUSC), which Calderón is the
leader in the 2010 presidential elections.
Being found innoncent could propel
Calderón's popularity and that of the party
which his father, Rafael Angel Calderón
Guardia, helped found. An innocent verdict
may send a wrinkle in the Liberación
Nacional (PLN) y Acción Ciudadana (PAC)
campaigns.
Francisco Barahona, political analyst and
former dean of the Universidad para La Paz,
says an innocent verdict could be the
"resurrection of the Phoenix, as Calderón
could really rise as a political leader and
confirming the doubts the prosecution was
out to get him. He could get the votes as
way of vindication".
However, Barahona adds, a guilty a verdict
will drown Calderón and the party.
Whatever happens today, there is no doubt
that
October 5 is a day that will go down in the
history of Costa Rica.
Who is
Rafael Ángel Calderón
?
Rafael Ángel Calderón Fournier (born in Diriamba, Nicaragua, on 14 March 1949) served as President of Costa Rica from 1990 to 1994.
His father was Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia, who was president from 1940 to 1944.
He
is a lawyer and politician, married to
Gloria Bejarano Almada. In 1991 he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Houston.
After an alleged corruption scandal he was
incarcerated in October 2004, His trial
started on November 3rd, 2008.
In spite of the charges, he has officially announced his candidacy for President of Costa Rica in 2010.
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