Persecution in Nicaragua: Presidential candidate Cristina Chamorro must face trial

The regime of Daniel Ortega decided to try journalist Christiana Chamorro, the opposition candidate for the presidency of the Republic, her brother Pedro Joaquin and three former employees of a non-governmental organization on charges of money laundering and other crimes., the prosecutor’s office reported Thursday.

“The criminal case has been filed against the Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Foundation (FVBCH) and is being indicted, and in addition to the Chamorro brothers, three former administrative employees of that entity will also present the detainees: Marcos Fleetes, Walter Gomez and Pedro Vázquez,” the Public Prosecution said in a statement.

“The judiciary maintained the precautionary measure of pretrial detention and referred the case to trialThe report noted. The crimes directed against the five defendants, who were arrested in the past three months, are money, property, asset laundering and other illegal acts.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office reported that five other defendants in the same case, including journalist Carlos Fernando Chamorro, brother of his predecessors and exiled in Costa Rica, “are fugitives from justice and have a judicial arrest warrant, pending the start of their hearings.” But the defendants fled because of the Sandinista regime’s persecution of the opposition.

The official report did not reveal the venue of the judicial hearing, but the Nicaraguan NGO Center for Human Rights (Cenidh) confirmed that it was held in The prison known as El Chipote, in the southeastern region of Managua, where 35 dissidents have been held since May 27 in prison..

Snead denounced preventing family members from entering the place and that The defense counsel assigned to one of the defendants was held incommunicado for the duration of the hearing.

Christiana Chamorro, 66, has been under house arrest since 2 JuneAfter announcing his desire to run in the November 7 elections against Sandinista Daniel Ortega, who is seeking re-election for the third time for a fourth consecutive term.

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

Six other dissidents who had aspired to the presidency up to that date were arrested and remain in detention.. The latest wave of arrests affected a total of 35 professionals, political leaders, peasants and students, who were investigated on charges of “treason” and “conspiracy at the expense of the people and the state”.

In the same statement, the attorney general’s office revealed that the judiciary had admitted charges against student leader Lester Aleman and political commentator Jaime Arellano, “of the alleged crime of conspiracy to undermine the unity of the nation.” The judge issued a pretrial detention order for each of the detained dissidents as well.

On the other hand, Peasant leaders Medardo Mairena and Freddy Navas, student leader Max Jerez, and opposition politician Jose Antonio Peraza They were charged by the Public Prosecution Office of the Nicaraguan regime for the crime of conspiracy against national integrity, the attorney general’s office said.

The Public Prosecution Office indicated in a statement that The four were charged with the alleged crime of conspiring to undermine the unity of the nationAccording to Articles 410 and 412 of the Penal Code, to the detriment of the Nicaraguan community and the State of Nicaragua.

Similarly, the Public Prosecutor’s Office indicated that the preliminary hearings against the defendants were held on Wednesday, and that the unnamed judicial authority, He pleaded guilty to the charges and issued a precautionary detention order for the four accused.

(with AP info)

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