Paraguay court upholds prison sentences in 'tonic water' embezzlement case

A Paraguayan appeals court has confirmed the prison sentences for former Petropar president Delia Patricia Samudio Torrás and her husband, José Manuel Costa Perdomo. The couple was convicted of embezzlement for overinflated purchases of tonic water during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Samudio was sentenced to four years in prison, and Costa Perdomo to three years and nine months. Their convictions became final in May, but they had been granted alternative measures to prison. The appeals court revoked these measures on July 9, ordering their immediate detention.

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In the specific case, the convicted parties, after the sentence became final, have promoted various presentations aimed at preventing or deferring the remission of the records to the Criminal Execution Court, seeking to avoid the commencement of the execution of the custodial penalty imposed.

The prosecution requested the prisoners' detention, arguing that the defense's repeated appeals were a tactic to avoid the sentence. Prosecutor Silvio Corbeta stated that the couple's actions indicated a flight risk. The court agreed, citing the final nature of the sentence and the need to send the case to an execution court.

Samudio's lawyer, Hugo Esteban Chávez Alvarenga, has appealed the decision, claiming a violation of his clients' right to defense. He also argued that the conviction is not yet final, as a request for clarification against a Supreme Court ruling and an unconstitutionality action are still pending resolution.

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The Collegiate Court of Sentence based the measure on a non-existent legal provision and turned the right to defense and the right to appeal into a standard.