Monsignor José Leonardo Urbina Rodríguez, 51, was sent to trial this Thursday, July 21, by the second criminal district judge for adolescents and specialized in violence in Managua, Miroslava Calero. The priest, arrested on July 13, He is accused of the alleged crimes of rape and psychological injuries against a 14-year-old girl.
The initial hearing, which had to be private for the protection of the identity of the minor, as indicated by Law 779 —Comprehensive Law against violence against women—, was widely publicized by the propaganda media of the Ortega regime, which exposed in photographs and videos the identity of the mother and grandmother of the alleged victim.
According to the official media, the mother of the alleged victim demanded justice. “My daughter is suffering. They don’t know how she feels as a mother. I ask the people of Boaco to support me, why do they support him if he is a rapist?
After the priest’s arrest, a group of parishioners protested with banners outside the Perpetuo Socorro church in Boaco, where Urbina is the parish priest. In addition, residents and religious of the town have affirmed that the arrest of the monsignor is a “political issue”, since this stood in solidarity with the citizens who protested against the Government in 2018 and called for the political prisoners on several occasions, so it would be an objective of the dictatorship.
Legal specialists consulted by CONFIDENTIAL They point out that in this case, as well as in that of the priest Manuel García —convicted of the alleged crime of physical violence and psychological violence—, the victims have been turned into “instruments” for political purposes, and they have been exposed and revictimized, contrary to what is established by law, in which their protection is deprived.
The accusation of the Public Ministry indicates that the alleged violation was committed against the minor, whose parents are faithful devotees of the Catholic Church. “Due to the degree of trust that existed between the defendant and the victim’s grandmother, the defendant took advantage of this circumstance to approach the victim and gain her trust, to the point that the victim considered and recognized him as her godfather,” he stated. Enmanuel Álvarez, prosecutor of the Public Ministry last week.
The official Channel 8 explained that, in the accusation, it is detailed that the alleged act was committed on three occasions: the first in December 2021; the second last January; and the last one in April this year.
They notice irregularities in the trial
Former judicial officials Boanerges Fornos and Yader Morazán, in a panel on the program This week, They warned of “irregularities” in the judicial process that the priest faces.
Although the father was arrested in Boaco, the case was referred to the Managua Courts, where he was given preventive detention. An irregularity that has been repeated in cases against political prisoners, who are arrested in their cities, but tried in the capital.
Morazán, a specialist in the administration of justice, indicated that another irregularity in the first hearing is that the priest was not allowed to present a lawyer he trusted. “They assigned him a defense attorney from the Public Defender’s Office, who, as in all processes, has only managed to make an appearance of defense, because they do not make any type of legal technical opposition within the process and only serves to validate an action that clearly It’s totally illegal.”
The capture of the priest García and Monsignor Urbina, in less than three months, is preceded by a recrudescence of the persecution against the Catholic Church and against priests such as the bishop of the Diocese of Matagalpa and apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Estelí, Monsignor Rolando Álvarez, and the parish priest of the San Juan Bautista Church in Masaya, Harving Padilla.
The regime has maintained a frontal attack against bishops and priests of the Catholic Church, whom it describes as “terrorists” and “coup plotters” since 2018, when they raised their voices against the repression and massacre that left more than 325 murdered between April and September of that year, and its temples were used as a refuge for hundreds of students and citizens.
During the last four years, the regime has also launched smear campaigns against the Church and its priests, promoting physical and verbal aggression by Ortega fanatics, as occurred with the desecration of the Managua Cathedral during the body mass of the poet. Ernesto Cardenal, in March 2020.
