Latest news about Bitcoin and all cryptocurrencies. Your daily crypto news habit.
A vocal critic of the upcoming bitcoin law in El Salvador, Mario Gomez, was briefly detained Wednesday. According to reports, he was arrested without a warrant.
Critic of El Salvadorâs Bitcoin Law Arrested
An IT specialist and founder of Hackerspace San Salvador, Mario GĂłmez, was briefly detained Wednesday morning. His attorney said there was never an arrest warrant for him. Gomez has been a vocal critic of the upcoming bitcoin law in El Salvador.
The National Civil Police of El Salvador (PNC) said they detained GĂłmez âwhile investigating financial fraud relating to an email phishing scam,â El Faro publication described. A press officer at the Attorney Generalâs Office told the publication:
They tell me itâs a move by the National Civil Police. Our office has no information at this time.
GĂłmezâs mother, who was with him when the arrest happened, explained that the police stopped their car, told her son to get out and go with them. She also said they seized his cell phone.
The publication conveyed:
GĂłmezâs mother reported that officers presented no warrant when they stopped him in his car, and told him that if he did not come along, he would be handcuffed. GĂłmez then told the press that he was unaware of why he had been detained.
Otto Flores, the lawyer representing GĂłmez, later told the press that âApparently he [GĂłmez] was only being investigated, the police say it was not an arrest.â He added that the PNC has released his client and taken him home.
Flores further said that it was ânot clearâ why Gomez was handcuffed and taken by the police. He noted that he and his mother were even lied to get them out of their vehicle.
The lawyer added: âThey [the authorities] do not want to tell us which unit of the Prosecutorâs Office is processing the charges.â
Gomez has recently been an outspoken critic of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukeleâs plan to make bitcoin a legal tender, pointing out flaws in El Salvadorâs Bitcoin Law which will go into effect on Sept. 7.
Renata Avila, co-founder of Progressive International, explained that Gomez only âexposed flaws in [the] Bitcoin Law promoted by the government,â elaborating:
He is not âanti-bitcoinâ but someone carefully exposing the weakness of the initiative.
Do you think Mario Gomezâs arrest has anything to do with the upcoming Bitcoin Law? Let us know in the comments section below.
Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not reflect the views of Bitcoin Insider. Every investment and trading move involves risk - this is especially true for cryptocurrencies given their volatility. We strongly advise our readers to conduct their own research when making a decision.