The Nicaraguan justice found guilty Martha Candelaria Rivas Hernandez, for the alleged crime of “false testimony”, after denying that the father Manuel Salvador Garcia —parish priest of the Jesús de Nazareno church in Nandaime— hit her in the face with a padlock on May 30.
According to the communication medium Despacho 505, the court in charge of issuing a guilty verdict against the 44-year-old woman was a judge from Granada. The Prosecutor’s Office is demanding the sentence of five years in prison.
Fractional news: The Prosecutor’s Office will use the ex-partner of Martha Rivas as a “key witness” against the citizen
The witness presented by the Public Ministry against Rivas Hernández was Humberto Jose Sanchez Lopez44, who was her ex-husband, to declare that the woman was assaulted by the priest.
The Public Ministry also had three forensic experts and the version of the police officers of the National Judicial Assistance, Gabriela Suyén Urbina, Juan Carlos Jiménez and Silverio Sandino Calero.
The media outlet added that officer Urbina declared that the complaint against the priest García was received on June 2, “but confirmed that the complainant was Humberto José Sánchez López, ex-spouse Martha Rivas.” While officer Jiménez appeared as “the complainant for the crime of perjury,” while Jiménez as the officer who received the complaint.
Rivas Hernández has been detained since June 22, accused of giving false testimony; since she initially declared to a digital platform that the Nandaime priest hit her with a padlock after a discussion they had on the night of May 30 at the Jesus of Nazarene Church, which is presided over by the religious. However, days later she retracted and said that it was all an “accident”, which is why she did not sign the complaint.
priest behind bars
On the other hand, the accusation and sentence to two years in prison against Father Manuel García was based on a video of May 30 released on social networks where the priest came out with a machete, supposedly threatening a group of people who were besieging the parish in which he was in charge.
Related news: They arrest a woman who retracted her alleged aggression against a priest in Nandaime
At the beginning of July, the prelate was found guilty of physical violence against Martha Rivas, although the woman declared that the alleged assault was an accident and assured that she did not file a formal complaint.
Nicaraguan human rights defenders denounced that the “judicial farce” perpetrated by the Ortega justice system against Father Manuel Salvador García is a legal aberration and a clear sign that the Nicaraguan regime has intensified the political persecution against the Catholic Church.
