US-Panamanian suing government

The case of Arthur Marohl and the National Bank is a a typical example of those allegations. In the year 2000 he was sued for libel and slander by the then general manager Bolivar Pariente after Marohl confronted him about a cleaning contract his company has won.

A lawsuit notice against Marohl was published 24 hours later in a local newspaper, causing his rs to panic and putting in jeopardy his cleaning business and the jobs of 150 employees.

Eventually Marohl won his case of libel and slander against the National Bank and Pariente and he contra-sued the institution and its manager.

The Panamanian Supreme Court, after hearing the case closed the file and did not make any provisions for compensation in favor of Marohl, who felt his rights have been trampled with.

After that decision, the American took a step further and sued the Panamanian state for violation of his rights before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights of the OAS (Organization of American States), but nothing has happened yet.

Marohl approached the American Embassy in Panama, asking it to support him in his quest for justice, but although the personnel were sympathetic, they did nothing about it, he said.

In desperation Marohl wrote to the Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice and the American President-elect Barack Obama explaining his case and asking for to help to get due process in the Inter-American Court.

Marohl said that he believes that the United States has the obligation to defend the human rights of its citizens, especially when they have been trampled by a foreign country.

The American businessman wants Condoleezza Rice to send a request to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights asking them to review the case that has been sitting there for the last few years.

“I only ask Miss Rice for a simple letter of enquiry about my case, because they mistakenly think I filed my petition after the deadline, but I put if forward two weeks before it expired,” said Marohl.

“Am I asking for too much, I just want justice, because I was persecuted for complaining against an injustice,” he said.