The businessman Piero Coen Ubilla, one of the most powerful in Nicaragua and a critic of the government of President Daniel Ortega, reported Friday in a press release that different properties belonging to him were registered in the name of the State, without having been notified “of no type of process” against him.
Coen explained that officers from the National Police, an entity sanctioned by the United States, and from the Attorney General’s Office, showed up at his properties to take possession of them.
“I have not been notified in any way of the existence of any type of process that justifies the actions of the Police that motivate this confiscation. The only thing I know is that my properties are now occupied by the National Police,” Coen denounced.
The Nicaraguan justice that responds to President Ortega has not ruled after the businessman’s complaint, however, an accusation against him has appeared in the Managua courts since March 27, and was presented on June 22.
The indictment does not establish the crime for which the businessman is being investigated, but the State and Nicaraguan society appear as the “victim.” That same legal figure has been applied to other opponents of Ortega and under which they have been prosecuted.
Confiscation is illegal and arbitrary, says lawyer
The Nicaraguan lawyer Yonarqui Martínez assures that for a property to be occupied or awarded to the State, it must comply with two letters. One, that there is a final judgment that expresses the reasons for the award; and two, the alleged crime committed must be criminalized to proceed with this type of action.
“In Nicaragua our Political Constitution prohibits expropriation and confiscation, however in recent processes awards have been made arbitrarily,” Martínez stressed to the VOA.
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