The journalist and candidate for the Presidency of Nicaragua, Christiana Chamorro Barrioscelebrated this June 2 a year of being under “house arrest”, after challenging Daniel Ortega in transparent general elections in 2021.
Justice at the service of the dictatorship accused Chamorro of the alleged crimes of money laundering, goods and assets, ideological falsehood, appropriation and improper retention, and sentenced her to eight years in prison without the right to participate in public office.
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The judicial process was held behind closed doors under false accusations, among other arbitrariness denounced by human rights organizations. The daughter of Violeta Barrios, the former president who defeated Ortega in 1990, was the opposition figure most likely to win the presidential elections and she became the first candidate to be imprisoned at the gates of the elections.
The Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (Cenidh) stated this day that Chamorro Barrios is innocent and, after a year of her isolation, “they have not been able to destroy her.” The agency demanded his immediate release.
The Nicaraguan Exiles Unit (UEN) condemned the recent arbitrary detention against Father Manuel Salvador García, after the priest was involved in an altercation with Sandinistas from that municipality.
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The opponents expressed their “deep concern” at the escalation and systematic repression of the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo against the Catholic Church and its leaders, which is part of “the repressive and violent nature”, demonstrated during the first Sandinista government in the 1980s.
In turn, they called on the pontifical diplomatic representations in the region to denounce the situation before the states and multilateral organizations in which they have a presence.
This same day, the local judge of the Nandaime Courts, in the department of Granada, Jaime Aguilar Ney, ordered preventive detention against the priest Manuel Salvador García, parish priest of the Jesús de Nazareno church, also known as El Calvario, reported the official Radio Ya.
According to the propagandist station, the religious would be accused by the Prosecutor’s Office for alleged “serious injuries”, to the detriment of Martha Candelaria Rivas, who has already filed a formal complaint with the Ortega Police.
The radio outlet detailed that the case could be referred to the Courts of Violence of Granada, “without the exact date for the initial hearing being known at the moment.”
The Sandinista deputies canceled the legal personality of 96 non-governmental organizations, the largest number of associations closed in a single session. The new dispossession was approved with 75 votes in favor, zero against and 14 abstentions, under the argument of not having fulfilled their obligations and not having registered as “foreign agents.”
Among those banned is the Center for International Studies (CEI) directed by Zoilamérica Narváez, daughter of Rosario Murillo; and the Nicaraguan Development Institute (INDE) which clarified that it will continue to operate normally because it is now regulated by the Ministry of Development.
Since the 2018 crisis, the regime has closed more than 400 Non-Profit Organizations (NPOs), affecting a large part of the most disadvantaged population.
The Blue and White National Unity (UNAB) will demand “more forceful actions” against the regime of Daniel Ortega from the leaders of the region who will participate in the Ninth Summit of the Americas.
The opposition organization announced that several members will attend the forum to be held next week in the United States, where they will ask for action from the international community to achieve the immediate release of political prisoners and an end to the repression in Nicaragua.
Related news: Ortega justice dictates preventive detention against Father Manuel Salvador García
This June 2 marks the fourth anniversary of the murders of geovanny miguel reyes28, from Tipitapa, and Junior Gaitán, a 15-year-old teenager from Masaya, both victims of the 2018 government repression that left more than 300 dead.
The Mothers of April Association (AMA) reminded young people through publications that recount the last moments of the life of Reyes, a father of a family who was shot by “hooded paramilitaries aboard a Hilux truck”; and of Gaitán, an adolescent from Monimbó who was called “Pollito”, executed in cold blood while begging for his life. The cases remain unpunished and the families continue to demand justice.
