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On Tuesday, February 8, former Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Francisco Aguirre Sacasa was sentenced to eight years in prison and this Wednesday, journalist Miguel Mora, to 13 years in prison. The sentences against both opponents of the Daniel Ortega government took place in closed-door trials, within the framework of a series of trials against opposition leaders.
In the last two weeks, the Nicaraguan government has carried out judicial proceedings behind closed doors against known dissidents. Several opponents of Ortega have been accused, most of them, of having violated the Nicaraguan Penal Code, the Citizen Security Law and the Political Constitution, among other regulations.
On Tuesday, Francisco Aguirre Sacasa, former foreign minister of the nation under President Arnoldo Alemán (1997-2002), was sentenced to eight years in prison, after being found guilty of conspiring to undermine national integrity. The trial against Sacasa took place behind closed doors in El Chipote, a prison located in the Directorate of Judicial Assistance of the National Police, in Managua, the country’s capital.
In a message posted on Twitter, Roberto Aguirre Sacasa, one of his sons, condemned the ruling against his father: “Today, after spending nearly 200 days in El Chipote prison in Nicaragua, our father, Francisco Aguirre Sacasa, was found guilty of treason, a crime he did not commit, for eight years and will be charged on February 16.”
Like our father, as Nicaraguans we believe that our first priority should be to prevent violence and maintain economic and social stability for everyone in Nicaragua.
— RobertoAguirreSacasa (@WriterRAS) February 9, 2022
In another part of the trill, Roberto Aguirre Sacasa expressed his concern about his father’s state of health, which according to the family, has deteriorated during the confinement. “We ask the authorities to commute his sentence to the time he has already served in prison and allow him to return to his wife,” he stressed. Under the law of the Central American country, anyone over the age of 70 can serve a sentence at home.
The former foreign minister’s son also asked “to establish an urgent and direct dialogue with the Ortega government to advocate for human rights in Nicaragua and try to start open and democratic processes for the future.”
Journalist and former presidential candidate Miguel Mora, sentenced to 13 years in prison
Journalist Miguel Mora, founder, owner and former director of the 100% Noticias channel, was also sentenced for the same crime – conspiring to undermine national integrity. This media outlet was closed by the Government after the start of the sociopolitical crisis that began in the country in 2018 and now broadcasts only digitally.
Mora had been a presidential candidate for the opposition Democratic Restoration party before being imprisoned last June. The political formation to which he belonged, the Supreme Electoral Council, with an official majority, also took away his legal status.
The journalist had already been imprisoned before, between December 2018 and June 2019, then accused of “fostering and inciting hatred and violence” and “provocation, proposition and conspiracy to commit terrorist acts” in the framework of anti-government protests. .
On June 20, he was arrested again, his trial was also held behind closed doors, in El Chipote.
Other opponents and leaders prosecuted
In recent months, ten opponents have been found guilty by the country’s Justice for the crime of conspiracy. Organizations such as the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights have described this series of processes as a “judicial farce”.
One of the most publicized cases is that of sports journalist Manuel Mendoza, who this week was also found guilty of conspiring to “undermine national integrity.” Mendoza was prosecuted behind closed doors and according to the Prosecutor’s Office he must serve nine years in prison. The chronicler was arrested in June 2021 in the context prior to the general elections.
The Nicaraguan Independent Journalists and Communicators movement described the trial against Mendoza as arbitrary. In a statement, the group underlined its repudiation of “every act of cruelty, abuse of power and malice committed against” Mendoza and “each of the people deprived of liberty for exercising and defending freedom of the press in Nicaragua.”
Dora María Téllez, Ortega’s former partner in the guerrilla war against dictator Anastasio Somoza, was also brought to court. The former revolutionary commander became one of the main voices demanding a renewal in Sandinismo.
Another opponent, Lesther Alemán, a young student who rebuked President Daniel Ortega on national television in the failed dialogues after the 2018 protests, was also seated on the bench of the condemned.
Added to these are the seven opposition leaders who announced their intention to run for the presidency of Nicaragua. Daniel Ortega was re-elected without effective opposition for a fifth and fourth consecutive term.
with EFE