New York, United States
The federal court for the Southern District of New York on Wednesday received the document by which the former Honduran congressman, Juan Antonio “Tony” Hernández, filed the appeal with that court.
Hernández, sentenced to life imprisonment plus 30 years on charges related to drug trafficking on March 30, insists on his innocence, which is why he presents the above appeal.
According to the document entered in the electronic file of the case, to which LA PRENSA had access, the appeal procedure started the day after the judgment, ie on March 31.
The document has been sent for the attention of the judge Kevin Castel, who was assigned to the case from the beginning and was the one who delivered the verdict against Hernández.
The document also states that the appeal includes not only last week’s verdict, but also the conviction that Tony found guilty in October 2019.
The appeal was filed by the lawyer Peter Brill, who remains Tony’s legal representative for the purposes of this appeal, despite his disagreement with the attorney’s performance, leading him to suspect that his duties as legal representative of the Honduran would eventually cease.
The process continues
The court will hear the appeal, so Tony’s case will move from the hands of the court of first instance to the court of appeal, which will presumably be the federal court of appeal for the second circuit. that is the court in whose jurisdiction the cases originating in the federal courts of New York State (including the Southern District) fall.
This move is the most recent in the Tony Hernández case, since his arrest in Miami, Florida, in late November 2018.
Eleven months after his arrest, President Juan Orlando Hernández’s brother was subjected to a two-week trial in October 2019 found guilty of drug trafficking, possession and use of weapons and destructive devices and made false statements to federal officials.
A year and five months after his conviction, Hernández was sentenced to life imprisonment, after which he began to hear his appeal.
It is now up to the Court of Appeal to review the case, either to cancel the proceedings or to reconfirm the verdict.