The general manager of the Nicaraguan newspaper La Prensa was sentenced to nine years in prison

The general manager of the Nicaraguan newspaper La Prensa, Juan Lorenzo Holmann Chamorro, considered a political prisoner of the Daniel Ortega regime by humanitarian agencies, was sentenced Thursday to nine years in prison and to pay a financial fine, reported the newspaper, the oldest in the country.

Judge Nadia Camila Tardencilla Rodríguez, head of the Second Criminal District Court of Managua, also barred Holmann from exercising his profession, trade or office, for the duration of his sentence.

La Prensa, which circulates in digital format for the retention of her paper since the day before the arrest of its general manager, said that the fine imposed by the judge is equivalent to three times the money or goods that Holmann allegedly washed, although she did not specify the amount.

Last Wednesday, Judge Tardencilla Rodríguez convicted the general manager of the newspaper La Prensa guilty for the crime of money, property or asset laundering.

PRESS HEADQUARTERS WILL REMAIN IN CUSTODY

According to the ruling, Holmann will serve his sentence until September 9, 2030.

“This is without prejudice to the fact that the computation can be reformed, even ex officio, if an error is found or when new circumstances make it necessary, which will be the competence of the Managua Court for the Execution of Sentences and Prison Surveillance”, according to part of the ruling, shared by La Prensa.

The court also ordered that “the property occupied” on August 13, 2021, “the day when the regime's police seized the physical facilities of the newspaper La Prensa and Editorial's commercial printing company”, will be kept in custody.

According to La Prensa, during the reading of the sentence, its general manager, who has been imprisoned for 229 days, thanked “everyone for their prayers”, asked to continue praying, and claimed to be “strong” and assured that it will remain so.

During the trial, which ended last week also in the evening hours, the businessman pleaded not guilty.

FOURTH MEMBER OF CHAMORRO FAMILY

Holmann is part of a group of more than 40 Nicaraguans, including opposition leaders, critics of dictator Daniel Ortega, and independent professionals, who were imprisoned before last November's elections, in which the Sandinista was re-elected to his fifth term, fourth in a row and second with his wife, Rosario Murillo, as Vice President, with seven of the candidates in prison.

The businessman became the fourth member of the Chamorro family to be condemned by the Nicaraguan justice system, which previously did the same with brothers Cristiana and Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Barrios, sons of former president Violeta Barrios de Chamorro (1990-1997), and also directors of La Prensa, as well as Juan Sebastián Chamorro García.

Both Cristiana and Juan Sebastián were arrested after announcing their interest in being a candidate for the presidency by the opposition.

Holmann, 55, has lost 24 pounds of weight, has a lump in his abdomen, pain in his groin, fungus in his hands and feet, heart problems, blood pressure, possible prostate problems, and a spot in his right eye, apparently because of the unsanitary conditions and lack of ventilation and lighting in his cell, according to denounced by the Nicaraguan Centre for Human Rights (CENIDH) and La Prensa.

The businessman's conditions, according to Cenidh, are similar to those of the rest of those captured in the context of the elections, including former diplomats, former Sandinista guerrillas, opposition leaders, youth leaders, peasants, journalists and businessmen.

ORTEGA: THEY ARE SONS OF A BITCH

The Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) last week deplored the “condemnation” against Holmann, noting that “once again” the Ortega regime “viciously demonstrated its intolerance of different thinking and freedoms.”

Holmann is the regional vice-president of the IAPA in the Central American country.

The Nicaraguan justice system has also sentenced journalists Miguel Mora and Miguel Mendoza to 13 and 9 years, respectively.

Since the start of the popular revolt in April 2018 against the Ortega government, an estimated 120 journalists have fled Nicaragua, mainly to Costa Rica, the United States and Spain, citing security reasons, according to data from the Nicaragua Never More Human Rights Collective.

Ortega has branded imprisoned and tried opponents as “traitors to the homeland,” “criminals,” and “sons of bitches of the Yankee imperialists.”

(With information from EFE)

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