The Nicaraguan Human Rights Collective Never Again condemned the guilty verdict that the Ortega judge Nadia Tardencilla dictated against the former Nicaraguan ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS) and now a political prisoner Edward Parrales.
The hearing was held on Tuesday, April 26, at the Judicial Assistance Directorate (DAJ), known as “El Nuevo Chipote” in Managua, and where the Prosecutor’s Office requested eight years in prison.
Related news: Political prisoner Edgard Parrales is declared guilty. Regime took him to trial tied with bridles and dressed in blue
The defense organization described as arbitrary and unconstitutional the ruling against Parrales, the oldest hostage of conscience, prosecuted for the alleged crimes of “conspiring to undermine national integrity” and “propagation of false news.”
He also reproached the ex-diplomat for being transferred from his home —where he remains under house arrest— “El Nuevo Chipote”, “there they imposed on him the prison uniform and he was held with cable ties,” he denounced.
Faced with this new judicialization, the Collective affirmed that “this trial, like all those carried out against political prisoners, violates their human rights and is also against an older adult who has suffered mistreatment.”
“We repudiate the deprivation of liberty carried out for four years (…) that confirm the systematic repression and serious violations of human rights in Nicaragua,” the organization stressed.
Related news: Edgard Parrales: “The person responsible for the tragedy that Nicaragua is experiencing today is called Daniel Ortega”
In addition, he emphasized his demand for an end to the persecution, “the application of unconstitutional and arbitrary laws and full freedom for the more than 180 political prisoners in Nicaragua.”
Edgard Parrales: «I am innocent»
During his intervention in the trial, the former diplomat declared with aplomb before the Ortega court that he was innocent of the crimes he was accused of and accused Daniel Ortega of being directly responsible for the “tragedy” in which Nicaragua is submerged.
«I am innocent, I am endorsed by a history of life and commitment in the defense of Nicaragua, specifically before the OAS. The person responsible for the tragedy that Nicaragua is experiencing today is called Daniel Ortega. I accuse Daniel Ortega,” Parrales declared according to Cenidh.
In the opinion of the human rights defense organization, Parrales’s intervention was a demonstration of “chair” of law, diplomacy, dignity and courage “where he demonstrated his innocence and pointed out with all moral authority, that the person responsible for the tragedy in Nicaragua is Daniel Ortega”.
The new hostage of conscience spent 94 days incarcerated in “El Nuevo Chipote”, under inhuman treatment, poor nutrition and torture. Parrales was arrested on November 22, 2021, outside his home, by civilians who were traveling in a dark blue Corolla vehicle, Managua license plate M 240-706.
After the political trial, the court at the service of the interests of the Ortega regime confirmed the continuity of the house arrest against Parrales. The sentence reading will be on May 5.
