The Blue and White National Unit (Unab) demanded “unconditional freedom for all detained older adults,” which would add up to more than 20 political prisoners. Among them is the presidential candidate and opposition politician Noel Vidaurre.
“Noel Vidaurre is sick and as long as he is not released, we demand urgent medical attention. #LibertadYa”, reads a tweet published by the political organization on its social network account.
Related news: Regime convicts Jaime Arellano and Noel Vidaurre of “conspiracy”
Vidaurre is one of the eight political prisoners who are under the “house arrest” regime. Since his arrest, on July 24, 2021, he has remained in his home under police custody.
The political prisoner was accused of “conspiracy to undermine national integrity”, whose sentence is five to 10 years in prison. Upon being found guilty, the judge of the Thirteenth Criminal Trial District, Ulisa Tapia Silva, disqualified him from holding public office for the same period as the sentence lasts.
Vidaurre’s arrest occurred after he attended an “interview” at the Public Ministry where he was threatened with applying Law 1055, the Sovereignty Law. Same under which he was tried, found guilty and sentenced to nine years in prison.
Vidaurre intended to compete as a candidate for the Presidency of Nicaragua in the elections of November 7, 2021, where Daniel Ortega won for the fourth consecutive term. The relatives of both citizens have avoided referring to the case, where Daniel Ortega criminalized the fact of being opponents of his regime.
According to the Mechanism for the Recognition of Political Prisoners, the dictatorship has imprisoned more than 180 opponents, has fabricated charges against them, and the arrests were illegal and arbitrary. They have been sentenced to several years in prison for raising their voices against the dictatorship.
