The political prisoner and former president of the Superior Council of Private Enterprise (Cosep), José Adán Aguerri, was returned to the prison of the Directorate of Judicial Assistance (DAJ) in Managua, known as El Chipote, under the argument of an alleged “breach of house arrest rules”, in relation to the police surveillance that he had in his house, sources familiar with the case explained to CONFIDENTIAL.
Last August 18Aguerri was sent home, under house arrest, to serve a thirteen-year prison sentence imposed on him by a judge from the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo.
Aguerri is the first political prisoner that the regime returns to El Chipote, after having given him a house for jail.
The former business leader was transferred to Chipote at noon on Wednesday, November 9. Neither the National Police nor the Public Ministry have ruled on the reasons for the change. Neither does Cosep. has spoken about this situation.
The secrecy about this incident has been absolute. According to sources linked to the business leader, the Police alleged an alleged breach of the rules of house arrest by the union director to justify his transfer to Chipote.
However, human rights defenders have denounced CONFIDENTIAL that, despite the fact that prisoners of conscience serve prison in their homes, there are many restrictions that even extend to their relatives.
Prisoners of conscience under house arrest they do not have access to any type of communication with the outside, cell phones, fixed lines, computers, radios and televisions are prohibited; they cannot receive the sun as many times as they want or go out to the patios of their homes.
Every day, at six in the morning and at six in the evening, they are photographed by police officers. They also do not have access to adequate and timely medical care; nor are they authorized to speak with their lawyers. In addition, he has police surveillance in his residences.
Supposed security flaw would have been the reason
Another source consulted by CONFIDENTIALlinked to a camera associated with Cosep, said on condition of anonymity that “it seems that they considered that there was a security flaw around them”referring to some kind of “shock” in the prisoner of conscience surveillance system.
The leader of the opposition Blue and White National UnityJuan Diego Barberena, in statements released by the EFE news agency, expressed his bewilderment at the change in the prison regime. “If we are guided by logic, there is no reason to change the measure, because the main reason is that there is a danger of evading serving the sentence, but these people are (in their homes) under the same coercive measures as in El Chipote”he expressed.
When Aguerri was returned to his home, a source from the business association told CONFIDENTIAL his shock about the physical appearance of the former president of Cosep. “I can only tell you that he is physically impaired. It is as if five years had passed for him, ”she recounted on that occasion.
The judicial authorities of the dictatorship have not specified or disclosed information or images about the health situation of Aguerri, 60 years oldand who during his confinement lost his mother and did not obtain permission from the authorities to attend her funeral.
The business leader was arrested on June 8, 2021 by the National Police in the midst of a wave of arrests before the presidential elections of November 7 of that year, which put more than 60 opposition, student, and peasant leaders in jail. , journalists and independent professionals, including seven dissidents who aspired to compete for the Presidency.
Aguerri’s return to prison has generated reactions of rejection and protest. “What happens in El Chipote? We directly ask the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, who together with the complacent Police, run over any legal, national and international norm”questioned, for its part, the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (Cenidh), according to the EFE report.
In the same sense, the former Nicaraguan ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS) expressed himself, Arthur McFieldswho last March separated from the Ortega government, which he denounced for human rights violations.
“The return of José Adán Aguerri to Chipote is immoral, illegal and arbitrary. Ortega, as a gangster, is beaten in his finances, with his pockets broken, and he continues to extort money from private companies, mercilessly targeting one of its leaders”McFields said on his Twitter account, where he sued “freedom for the 220 political prisoners”.
The return of José Adán Aguerri to Chipote is immoral, illegal and arbitrary. Ortega as a gangster is beaten in his finances, with his pockets torn and he continues
extorted from the private company by targeting one of its leaders. Freedom for the 220 political prisoners. #Nicaragua– Arturo McFields Yescas (@ArturoMcfields) November 10, 2022
A lawyer linked to cases of political prisoners expressed on condition of anonymity that he does not believe that Aguerri’s case is a pattern that will be met with the rest of prisoners of conscience under house arrest.
12 prisoners of conscience under house arrest
In addition to Aguerri, another 12 prisoners of conscience remain under house arrest. The political prisoners who are under house arrest in Nicaragua by police order ratified by an Ortega judge are:
- The independent presidential candidate and former president of the Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Foundation, Cristiana Chamorro Barrios, since June 2, 2021.
- The former deputy of the Liberal Constitutionalist Party (PLC) and wife of former President Arnoldo Alemán, María Fernanda Flores, since June 21, 2021.
- The conservative politician and presidential candidate who would compete in the Alianza Ciudadanos por la Libertad (ACxL), Noel Vidaurre, from July 24, 2021.
- Political commentator Jaime Arellano, since July 24, 2021.
The political prisoners who, after several months in cells at El Chipote, were transferred to a “house arrest” regimen due to their “state of health” are five, all over 60 years of age. However, their state of health is unknown and in most cases they have not been allowed to be treated by independent doctors.
All of them, in addition, were transferred after the death of the also prisoner of conscience and retired brigadier general, Hugo Torres, who passed away after falling ill from mistreatment and torture in prison. The five prisoners of conscience for their “state of health” in Nicaragua are:
- The former Nicaraguan ambassador to the United States, academic and presidential candidate of Citizens for Freedom (CxL), Arturo Cruz Sequeira, arrested on June 5, 2021 in El Chipote and transferred home to jail on February 19, 2022.
- The former liberal deputy and member of the Civic Alliance, José Pallais Arana, arrested on June 9, 2021 in El Chipote and transferred home to jail in his home in León on February 19, 2022.
- The former Foreign Minister of the Republic, former ambassador to the United States and analyst on international issues, Francisco Xavier Aguirre Sacasa, arrested on July 28, 2021 in El Chipote and transferred home to prison on February 19, 2022.
- Former Nicaraguan ambassador to Costa Rica and member of the Citizens for Freedom (CxL) party, Mauricio José Díaz Dávila, arrested on August 9, 2021 in El Chipote and transferred home to jail on February 24, 2022.
- The former representative of Nicaragua before the OAS, and analyst on international issues, Edgar Francisco Parrales Castillo, arrested on November 22, 2021 and transferred home to jail on February 24, 2022.
Aguerri was transferred without “official justification”
Three political prisoners in Nicaragua, also all over 60 years of age, were transferred to “house arrest” after several months in prison, “without official justification.” Among these was Aguerri.
- Former deputy and member of the Ciudadanos por la Libertad (CxL) party, Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Barrios, arrested: June 25, 2021 and transferred home to jail on April 30, 2022.
- Former vice chancellor and member of Unamos (formerly MRS), Víctor Hugo Tinoco Fonseca, arrested on June 17, 2021 and transferred home to jail on May 16, 2022.
The latest case of a prisoner of conscience who was sentenced to house arrest is the Bishop Rolando Alvarezwho was first locked up from August 4 to 19 in the Episcopal Curia of Matagalpa, along with eight other people.
Subsequently kidnapped and transferred to his parents’ home in Managua, where the Ortega Police keep him under “house arrest”, after reporting that he is being investigated for allegedly “organizing violent groups” and “carrying out acts of hate”.
