Persecution in Nicaragua: Three opposition leaders sent to trial by Ortega’s regime

justice Nicaragua I decided this Friday trial continued preventive prison Three candidates for the presidency and others accused of undermining sovereignty and “Betrayal of the homeland” 66 days before the general elections, the prosecution said.

The Court of Justice, on the second day of hearings against 34 imprisoned dissidents, ordered the referral of the presidential candidates to trial, Felix Maradiaga, Arturo Cruz and Juan Sebastian ChamorroAccording to the statement of the Public Prosecution (Prosecution).

The decision to prosecute the three politicians came A day after presidential candidate Christiana Chamorro was referred to trial, accused of laundering money and property through the Violetta Barrios de Chamorro Foundation (FVBCH).

Government Daniel Ortega, in power since 2007 and looking for the fourth, It is believed that the arrested opponents are trying to overthrow him.

Cruz was arrested on June 5, while Maradiaga and Chamorro were arrested on June 8, as part of the A wave of arrests targeted government critics, social leaders, businessmen and students on charges of “undermining independence, sovereignty, self-determination and inciting foreign intervention”.

In addition to the three presidential candidates, seven detained opponents, including the business leader, will also be tried Jose Aguirre, former fighters Hugo Torres Jimenez, Dora Telles, Victor Tinoco, as well as captains Suin Barahona and Violetta Granera.

They were all arrested between June And July The court admitted the accusation A conspiracy to undermine the unity of the homeland, the prosecution indicated.

The session was held in the police legal aid prison known as El Chipote, Without access to the press or family, which according to the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH), is a violation of laws that state that trials must be general And in the courtroom.

Trials with no start date are announced in the middle of the electoral process, and are dated November 7 And the main competitor who will be the current president, Daniel Ortega.

President 75 Years He was in government between 1979 and 1990, initially at the head of the board of directors and then as president. In 1990, he was defeated by former president Violetta Barrios de Chamorro and returned to power in 2007 where he remains to this day.

Arrest the opponents It led to increased sanctions and criticism from the international community for Ortega who refuses to release his rivals, claiming that they “criminalsAnd they plotted a coup with the support of the United States.

(With information from AFP)

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