Persecution in Nicaragua: Presidential candidate Cristiana Chamorro must stand trial

Daniel Ortega’s regime has decided to prosecute journalist Cristiana Chamorro, an opposition presidential candidate, her brother Pedro Joaquín and three former employees of an NGO for money laundering and other alleged crimes., the prosecutor’s office reported Thursday.

In a statement, the public prosecutor said that “criminal proceedings have been indicted and are ongoing” against the Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Foundation (FVBCH) and that in addition to the Chamorro brothers, three former administrative employees of this entity will also be detainees: Marcos Fletes, Walter Gómez and Pedro Vásquez.

“The judicial authority maintained the precautionary measure of preventive detention and referred the case to trialThe report noted. The crimes attributed to the five defendants, arrested in the past three months, are money, property and asset laundering and other illegal acts.

The prosecution indicated that five other defendants in the same case, including the journalist Carlos Fernando Chamorro, brother of the precedents and exiled in Costa Rica, “are fugitives from justice and with a warrant of judicial arrest, awaiting the realization of their hearings. ”. However, the accused fled due to the persecution of the opposition by the Sandinista regime.

The minutes did not reveal the location of the court hearing, but the Nicaraguan Non-Governmental Center for Human Rights (Cenidh) assured that it had taken place in the so-called El Chipote prison, in the south-east of Managua and where 35 opponents detained since May 27 are kept in prison.

Cenidh denounced that family members were prevented from entering the premises and that the defense lawyer assigned to one of the accused was held incommunicado for the duration of the hearing.

Cristiana Chamorro, 66, has been under house arrest since June 2, after announcing that he wanted to run in the November 7 elections against Sandinista Daniel Ortega, who is seeking his third re-election for a fourth consecutive term.

The Chamorro Barrios brothers are the children of former President Violeta Chamorro (1990-1997), who defeated Ortega in the 1990 elections at the head of a broad opposition coalition.

Six other opposition candidates aspiring to the presidency were arrested on that date and remain in prison.. The recent wave of arrests affected a total of 35 professionals, political leaders, peasants and students, indicted for “treason” and “conspiracy to the detriment of the people and the state”.

In the same statement, the prosecutor’s office revealed that the judicial authority had admitted charges against student leader Lesther Alemán and political commentator Jaime Arellano, “for being the alleged perpetrators of the crime of conspiracy to harm the national integrity “. The judge ordered preventive detention for the two opponents, who are also detained.

On the other hand, peasant leaders Medardo Mairena and Freddy Navas, student leader Max Jerez and opposition politician José Antonio Peraza were accused by the public prosecutor of the Nicaraguan regime of the crime of conspiracy against national integrity, the prosecutor’s office reported.

In a statement, the prosecution said that the four were accused of being the alleged perpetrators of the crime of conspiracy to undermine national integrity, in accordance with Articles 410 and 412 of the Penal Code, to the detriment of Nicaraguan society and the State of Nicaragua.

Likewise, the prosecution indicated that the preliminary hearings against the accused were held on Wednesday and that the judicial authority, whose name was not specified, acknowledged the charges and decreed the provisional measure of preventive detention for the four defendants.

(With AP information)

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