Nicaragua: Opposition leader Chamorro, others put on trial | News | DW

Nicaraguan opposition determine Cristiana Chamorro and one among her brothers had been formally positioned on trial on Thursday.

Chamorro had been detained since June of final yr whereas planning an election problem to President Daniel Ortega. She, her brother Pedro Joaquin Chamorro and three former staff of the Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Basis might be tried for cash laundering and different alleged crimes.

Why is opposition being focused?

She was one of many first opposition leaders in a wave of detentions final yr. A few of these included presidential candidates, whose detention paved the way in which for Ortega’s re-election on November 7. 

Chamorro, the daughter of former President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, has maintained her innocence. 

Earlier, former Deputy International Affairs Minister Jose Pallais, 68, and enterprise chief Jose Adan Aguerri had been sentenced to 13 years imprisonment. Opposition activists Violeta Granera and chief Tamara Davila obtained sentences of eight years.

Hugo Torres, a former guerrilla chief who as soon as helped free then insurgent Ortega from jail, died at 73 whereas awaiting trial. 

The judicial system in Nicaragua has already sentenced a number of opposition figures to jail for “conspiracy to undermine nationwide integrity.”

Ortega has additionally cracked down on a number of non-governmental organizations, particularly these receiving funding from overseas. They’ve been accused of a broader conspiracy to take away him from workplace in 2018.

String of trials

The latest string of trials have been held in El Chipote jail, and defendants have solely been allowed to have their attorneys current.

“So far as the fees towards them, there are nonexistent crimes. In that sense, the federal government can by no means show these absurd accusations,” mentioned Vilma Nunez, president of the Nicaraguan Middle for Human Rights. 

Nicaragua has violently cracked down on anti-government protests since 2018, and hundreds have fled the nation. Ortega has maintained that his critics have been working with overseas powers or inspired different nations to place sanctions on him and his household. 

tg/sms  (AFP, AP)