The trial against the human rights defender and political prisoner, Evelyn PintoIt lasted a little over five hours. Sufficient time for the judge to find her guilty for the crimes of “conspiracy” and “cybercrime”in a hearing that took place behind closed doors in a room of the Managua Judicial Complex.
At the end of the day —in the penalty debate— the Public Ministry requested the imposition of eight years in prison, five for conspiracy and three for cybercrimes, plus 500 days of fines. The reading of the sentence was scheduled for March 14, at 8:30 am, reported the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (Cenidh).
“During the farce (the trial), despite the fact that the defense requested that they let her meet for a moment with her family member, they did not allow it and alleged that she already has her visits established.”added the Cenidh in a Twitter thread.
The trial against the defender of human rights it was initially scheduled for February 22, but the day before it was rescheduled without any explanation.
Pinto, 63, was imprisoned on November 6 during the wave of kidnappings ordered by the Ortega-Murillo regime in the electoral context and from the December 1 remains in the National Penitentiary System for Women, known as La Esperanza.
? At 3:10 pm the judicial farce against human rights defender Eveling Pinto ended in the Managua Courts, she was unfairly found guilty of the crime of Conspiracy and cybercrime, the Prosecutor’s Office requested 8 years in prison. #Is innocent #FreedomForPoliticalPrisoners pic.twitter.com/xpQqOSbzU5
— Cenidh (@cenidh) March 10, 2022
A process “arbitrary”
Relatives of the defender have denounced that the judicial process has been “arbitrary” because, during the four months that she has been imprisoned, they did not obtain a response to any of the appeals filed, not even in the two that requested specialized medical attention for the political prisoner.
I paint it cancer survivor, has no thyroid and is a patient with chronic renal failure. so your daughter, Silvia Nadine Gutiérrez, denounced weeks ago that the defender needed her specialized check-up and a creatinine control. TOIn addition, he suffers from hypertension and was rigorously complying with his medications, but for now it is unknown if he is receiving the medications that his family takes to the prison.
Pinto is retired and has always worked on causes defending the rights of children and adolescents. In addition, she participated in plans for inclusive education and collaborated closely with the indigenous peoples on the issue of territory and the legal framework that would allow them to defend their spaces.
Now, the defender is part of a group of 21 older adults, who the Ortega-Murillo regime arrested in the months prior to the November 2021 vote, when the president was re-elected in a vote without democratic guarantees, eliminating political competition by order the arrest of the main political, economic and social leaders.
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