The regime of Daniel Ortega is preparing to bring to court the priest Óscar Benavidez Dávila, parish priest of the Espíritu Santo church, in Mulukukú; Municipality of the Autonomous Region of the North Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua. The trial is scheduled for January 16.
Benavides Dávila is accused of allegedly conspiring to undermine national integrity and spreading false news through information and communication technologies. His case will be in charge of Nancy Aguirre Gudiel, head of the Tenth Criminal Trial District Court of Managua, who scheduled the start of the trial for next month at 9 in the morning, in the Judicial Complex of the capital.
Related news: Mulukukú police “disappear” Father Oscar Benavidez after homily on the persecution of prophets
This Monday, December 12, the priest turns 50, but this time from the cells of the “Jorge Navarro” Tipitapa Penitentiary System, after being captured on August 14, 2022, the day of the traditional little shouting.
The priest Benavidez is originally from San Isidro, Matagalpa, he had been in charge of the Espíritu Santo parish in Mulukukú for a little over three months. His parishioners have expressed that he is a very loved person in the town.
Benavidez was the third religious kidnapped by the Ortega dictatorship; the first were Monsignor Leonardo Urbina and Father Manuel Salvador García. The first is accused of allegedly having raped a minor under 12 years of age and the other of having assaulted a woman and threatened Sandinista militants.
In August the Police intensified the repression against the Catholic Church, locking up priests, closing the media and religious institutions. In addition to impeding freedom of worship.
The Nicaraguan dictatorship has been merciless against the Catholic Church. He has branded priests and bishops “diabolical” and “traitors.” Little by little, Ortega has been adding to the list of imprisoned priests, so far there are more than ten religious who are being part of legal proceedings against him and two have already been convicted.
