The dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo maintains some eight Nicaraguan journalists as political prisoners, including two women: former presidential candidate Cristiana Chamorro Barrios and political activist Samantha Jirón, the youngest area of conscience of the Managua regime.
The list of political prisoners is completed by sports writer Miguel Mendoza, former presidential candidate and owner of 100% Noticias, Miguel Mora; former deputy Pedro Joaquín Chamorro; the general manager of La Prensa, Juan Lorenzo Holmann; the student leader Lesther Alemán and the political commentator Jaime Arellano.
Within the framework of the “Christmas without political prisoners” campaign, the opposition Civic Alliance for Justice and Democracy (ACJD) reminded journalists that the dictatorship has captives in its jails or under house arrest, such as the case of Arellano and Cristiana Chamorro.
«For the freedom of all the political prisoners of Nicaragua, so that this Christmas they can share in the bosom of their home and can hug their family. Christmas awaits you as a family. Nicaragua embraces you this Christmas,” the opposition group wrote on its social media accounts.
Related news: Two journalists collaborating with Monsignor Álvarez are accused by the Ortega Prosecutor’s Office
Cristiana Chamorro was the favorite in the polls to seize the Presidency from Ortega at the polls, but the regime opened a criminal case against her for alleged crimes of money laundering, goods and assets, ideological falsehood, appropriation and improper retention. She was sentenced to eight years in jail. She has been under house arrest since June 2, 2021.
Juan Lorenzo Holmann was arrested on August 14, 2021, after the dictatorship raided and confiscated the newspaper’s facilities. Juan Lorenzo Holmann was sentenced to nine years in prison for the alleged crime of money laundering and customs fraud. In prison he has developed various illnesses and suffers from heart conditions that we were treated by a doctor.
Pedro Joaquín Chamorro was arbitrarily detained on June 25, 2021. He was found guilty for the alleged crime of abusive management, ideological falsehood, misappropriation and retention from the extinct Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Foundation (FVBCh). He was sentenced to nine years in prison and disqualified from holding public office. After 10 months in prison he was placed under house arrest.
Samantha Jirón was arrested on November 8, 2021. She was charged with “conspiracy to undermine national integrity” and charges pursuant to Law 1042, the Special Cybercrime Law. She was sentenced to eight years in jail and to pay a fine of 30,000 córdobas. She is held captive in the Comprehensive Women’s Penitentiary Establishment (EPIM), known as “La Esperanza”, in Tipitapa.
The journalist Miguel Mora was sentenced by the Second Criminal District Judge of Managua, Nadia Camila Tardencilla, to 13 years in prison, allegedly for conspiring “to undermine national integrity.” The Ortega judiciary was sanctioned by the US State Department on July 15 of this year.
Lesther Alemán was captured on July 5, 2021, a few months before the November 2021 presidential elections. He received a 13-year prison sentence. The dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo accused him of the crime of “conspiracy to undermine national integrity.”
Jaime Arellano has been under house arrest since July 24, 2021. The judge of the Thirteenth Criminal Trial District of Managua, Ulisa Yahoska Tapia Silva, found him guilty and sentenced him to 13 years in prison, for the alleged crime of conspiracy to commit to national integrity.
The journalist and critic of the Ortega y Murillo regime Miguel Mendoza was imprisoned in June 2021, in the middle of a hunt for union leaders. He was found guilty of the crimes of conspiracy to undermine the national integrity and propagation of false news, through repressive laws directed against opponents. The Ortega y Murillo court sentenced him to nine years in prison.
The Ortega regime maintains more than 235 political prisoners, including eight journalists, in the different jails of Nicaragua, this list increases every day with the arbitrary detentions against opponents or relatives of politically persecuted.
