SAN JOSE (Reuters) -Nicaragua’s government said on Wednesday it has granted asylum to Panama’s former President Ricardo Martinelli, after the ex-leader currently facing a lengthy prison sentence at home requested the protection at Nicaragua’s embassy in Panama City.
Martinelli, who had already announced another run for president in elections later this year, considers himself a victim of political persecution with his life in “imminent” danger, according to a statement from Nicaragua’s foreign ministry.
Late last week, Panama’s top court rejected Martinelli’s appeal to annul a nearly 11-year prison sentence due to a conviction last year centering on money laundering charges.
Even so, Martinelli, who was president of the Central American nation from 2009 to 2014, had been leading in polls ahead of May’s presidential election.
Panama’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Ismael Lopez in San Jose; Additional reporting by Elida Moreno in Panama City; Editing by Chris Reese and Brendan O’Boyle)