Lawyer Alfredo Vallarino recommended that the Public Prosecutor's Office be cautious with hasty and unnecessary arrests, after this week the apprehension of influencer Bartolo Encarnación Guante, known as Barto, was declared illegal.
Vallarino emphasized that history shows that the Public Prosecutor's Office has charged a number of people who ultimately turn out to be innocent.
"Be careful with unnecessary arrests because many times, and it is proven in history, the Public Prosecutor's Office has made mistakes, and if I am going to make a mistake, I will at least want that it affects a person as little as possible," he stated.
Vallarino used this case as an example that the Public Prosecutor's Office also makes mistakes.
"In high-profile cases, it draws attention, but this happens to the common citizen every day and is absolutely unnecessary," he added.
According to Vallarino, he has seen these situations occur in both high-profile and low-profile cases.
This week, guarantees judge Keila Martínez declared the arrest of Barto and three other people illegal. They were accused of money laundering to the detriment of Caja de Ahorros.
According to the judge, the prosecutor in the case, Elías Murillo, could not demonstrate the need and proportionality to proceed with the arrest of the accused in this case.
She also questioned the methods, stating that it is not necessary to make an arrest in the early morning when one can simply communicate that there is an accusation hearing and tell the person to appear.
In this sense, the lawyer recalled that behind such a detention, one loses their job, family, honor, freedom, and a series of other aspects that do not make sense to risk for the mere haste of a prosecutor.
"Why do they have to go at 5 in the morning with police to handcuff him in front of his children and make a media show, when they could have told him: Mr. Flow, you have an accusation hearing, please appear on such a day, where we will read all the charges we want you to know," he commented.
He also said that approximately 80% of the accused are acquitted without a conviction, and of those prosecuted, about 50% to 60% receive some type of conviction.
