TODAY NICARAGUA – The judges in charge of the cases against some thirty political prisoners stopped setting the dates for their trials. Hiding behind the arguments of “work overload” or “force majeure causes,” they suspended the statutory imposed limits and stated they will notify the parties through a writ.
Legal experts consider such situations to be “a legal dirty trick” to extend the time of arrest for opponents of the Ortega-Murillo regime.
Of the 39 political prisoners that the regime has captured since the end of May in the context of the electoral process, 35 have already been accused of the alleged crimes of conspiracy and money laundering, cases that are of complex proceedings, according to Article 135 of the Criminal Code.
This implies that the trials could last up to 12 months, counting from the first hearing that was held in the first week of September, when some of the prisoners completed 90 days of arrest.
A relative of a political prisoner, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals against him or his family member under arrest, said that “none of the cases has a trial date,” so his assessment is that “they are held in a legal limbo,” since they are no longer in the hearing process, but their cases are stuck in the courts.
Confidencial confirmed that the cases against the political prisoners Juan Sebastián Chamorro, Felix Maradiaga, Arturo Cruz, Jose Adan Aguerri, Violeta Granera, Jose Pallais and Tamara Davila, are in the Fifth Criminal District Court of Managua, but the count of the maximum time limit for the trial has been interrupted.
Likewise, in the Ninth Criminal District Court of Managua, the period for holding the trial against political prisoners Cristiana Chamorro Barrios, Walter Gomez, Marcos Fletes, Pedro Vasquez and Pedro Joaquin Chamorro Barrios is suspended.
Article originally appeared on Today Nicaragua and is republished here with permission.
