The Public Ministry violated the presumption of innocence of political prisoners by calling them “criminals and delinquents” in a press release reporting the reactivation of trials against prisoners of conscience imprisoned in the Directorate of Judicial Assistance, known as popularly known as “the new Chipote”, as well as those who have house arrest.
“These same criminals and delinquents have reoffended, attacking the rights of the Nicaraguan people and society, compromising peace and security. They are the same ones that promoted and directed the terrorist acts of the failed coup attempt of 2018, having paralyzed the country and created damage to the economy; They are the same ones that have caused so much pain and mourning in the Nicaraguan family because of the murders, torture and kidnappings,” the statement said.
In Chipote, more than 30 political prisoners have been imprisoned since mid-2021, being subjected to permanent interrogations and physical and psychological torture.
For this week the trials against the areas of conscience and opposition leaders Dora María Téllez and Ana Margarita Vijil, and political prisoners Yader Parajón and Yaser Vadoaccusing them of alleged “conspiracy to undermine national integrity to the detriment of the State of Nicaragua and Nicaraguan society” and other crimes fabricated by the Public Ministry, which controls the ruling Sandinista Front.
“These accused persons will be on trial for having violated the Political Constitution and Law 1055, the Sovereign Security Law and the Nicaraguan Penal Code. They will be prosecuted for undermining national integrity, for having received resources from foreign sources to commit crimes of money, property and asset laundering,” the statement from the Public Ministry cites.
The resumption of the political trial against Ana Margarita Vijil, former president of Unamos (formerly known as MRS) will be held on Wednesday, February 2, at 8:30 am, in the Evaristo Vásquez Police Complex, which is what it is officially called “the new Chipote.” While, the trial against the guerrilla commander, historian and leader of the opposition, will take place on Thursday, February 3 at 8:30 amwhere their initial and preliminary hearings were also held behind closed doors.
The regime scheduled the trial against Yader Parajón, brother of the Nicaraguan murdered in May 2018Jimmy Parajon, and against Yaser Vado González, student expelled from UNAN-Managua, also a member of Unamos and the opposition Blue and White National Unity, for February 1, also at 8:30 am
“They have altered the peace and tranquility of Nicaraguan families, creating anxiety and harming the supreme interests of the nation. They have carried out acts that undermine the independence, sovereignty, and self-determination of Nicaragua and have publicly incited foreign interference in internal affairs, proposing or managing economic, commercial, and financial operations blockades against the country and its institutions,” the press release cites. the prosecution.
This Friday, January 28, the programming of the trials of the Unamos leader was also known, Suyén Barahona, for February 7; the journalist Miguel Mora, for February 4; heto human rights lawyer María Oviedo, for February 14; and presidential candidate Noel Vidaurrewho is under house arrest. All the hearings that will be held in “the new Chipote”.
In October 2021, the judges where the cases of the political prisoners are based suspended the political trials indefinitely, citing “work overload” or “force majeure” that were not detailed.
Trials should be annulled
The relatives of the political prisoners denounced the illegalities committed in legal proceedings. In a statement, released this Friday, January 28, they reiterated the innocence of their relatives.
“During all this time – more than eight months in most cases – our relatives have been kept totally defenseless and inhumanely discriminated against,” the relatives affirmed in the statement.
The relatives of political prisoners indicated that their right to defense has been violated and hindered, holding secret hearings without the presence of lawyers or relatives, while they have been prevented from meeting with their lawyers and having access to their complete case files.
The reactivation of political trials against prisoners of conscience imprisoned in “the new Chipote”, ordered by the Daniel Ortega regime, is another act in an extensive list of annulments and violations that, for the Nicaraguan lawyer specializing in Criminal Law , María Asunción Moreno, leads to the same legal conclusion: the closure of the cases and the immediate release of the political prisoners.
The jurist maintains that “there is no basis, neither legal nor in fact” to resume the political trials, which she describes as “spurious and illegal”, nor to keep prisoners of conscience imprisoned. On the contrary, she affirms that “there are so many nullities in all these processes that the only thing that fits is their immediate release.”
