Opponent Cristiana Chamorro sentenced to eight years in prison in Nicaragua

Update with statement by Chamorro in paragraph #7 ///Managua, 22 Mar 2022 (AFP) - Journalist and former Nicaraguan presidential candidate Cristiana Chamorro was sentenced by a court to eight years in prison on Monday, after being found guilty of crimes attributed to her by the government of Daniel Ortega. domiciliario, a regime he has been in since last June, reported the independent Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (Cenidh), which is following the proceedings against detained opponents. His conviction is for crimes such as money laundering and misappropriation. The authorities have not given details of the convictions. According to the Prosecutor's Office, the crimes were committed through the Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Foundation (FVBCH), an NGO named after the former president of Nicaragua (1990-1997) and mother of Cristiana, dedicated to promoting freedom of the press and expression.” “I am obliged to follow that legacy” of the family in defense of freedom of expression, the opposition, daughter of journalist and director of the newspaper La Prensa, Pedro Joaquín Chamorro, told the judge. On Monday he was also sentenced to nine years in prison for the same case of the Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Foundation, brother of Christian. Joaquín will be held in the prison of the Police Judicial Assistance Directorate (DAJ), known as El Chipote.Two employees of the FVBCH, inoperative since last year, and Cristiana's chauffeur also received sentences of up to 13 years. -Millionaire fines- Cristiana and the three officials “were given millionaire fines” that are “impossible to pay, and if they were to be commuted it would amount to life imprisonment,” said Cenidh, who calculated the total amount of the penalty at about three million dollars.Cristiana had already rejected the charges, and assured that the case against her was armed by having tried to “serve Nicaraguans” as a presidential candidate in last November's elections.She was arrested on June 2, days after she announced her intention to register as a pre-candidate for the presidency of the right-wing Citizens for Freedom Alliance (CXL). the re-election of Ortega, a 76-year-old former guerrilla who has been in office since 2007 and who last November won a fourth consecutive term. The journalist advocated a single opposition candidacy to face Ortega. The accusation against Chamorro originated after the Ministry of the Interior, which oversees the work of NGOs, warned that he found anomalies in the Foundation's accounts and transferred the case to the Prosecutor's Office, which requested his arrest.Cristiana Chamorro was one of seven candidates for the presidency arrested along with 39 other opponents last year on charges, most of them, of violating “national integrity.” under the protection of a law on the Defense of Sovereignty, passed in 2020 by the Congress that controls the ruling Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN). The opposition and the international community consider that the arrests were politically motivated and sought to ensure Ortega's continuity in power. Open Ballot Boxes, the condemnations of presidential candidates are “the consummation of persecution and political judicialization against any opposition leadership or force that aspired to dispute power through voting.” -The Chamorros- The trials of the opponents began on February 1 and at least 40 have received sentences between 8 and 13 years of imprisonment.Relatives of the detainees insisted on Monday the progressive deterioration of the health of their relatives with heart disease, skin fungus, fainting and symptoms compatible with covid-19. They demand freedom or a change in prison regime.One of them, former guerrilla Hugo Torres, died in a hospital after spending several months in prison. Four members of the Chamorro family were arrested between June and September last year. Cristiana and her brother Pedro Joaquín, convicted today; and her cousins Juan Sebastián Chamorro, former presidential candidate sentenced to 13 years; and Juan Lorenzo Holmann Chamorro, manager of the opposition newspaper La Prensa, whose trial began on Monday.Meanwhile, journalist Carlos Fernando Chamorro, another brother of Cristiana on whom there was an order to arrest, he went into exile to avoid his capture.bur/mav/dga/dl —