Nicaragua: what is behind the restart of the trials of opponents of the Ortega regime?

Money laundering and undermining national integrity. These are some of the excuses that the government of Daniel Ortega presents to prosecute his opponents. Of course, the Nicaraguans Those denounced have no way of defending themselves from the authoritarian regime that today has summoned 46 political prisoners to restart their trials.

The processes, of course, are completely irregular, to the point that, just as they were suspended without prior notice in September of last year, they are now being resumed without giving the guarantees of due process.

From Nicaragua, the journalist Maynor Salazar Explain: “So, the judges argued that there was a lot of workload, but it was not so true because other processes did continue. In the end, there was no compelling reason to justify the decision”.

“On the day of his inauguration, Daniel Ortega He talked about the clean slate. The resumption of the trials of his political opponents shows that his words do not apply to them”.

According to the report of Mechanism for the Recognition of Political Prisoners, until last December the number of 170 political prisoners in Nicaragua. Of them, 160 were captured during the social outbreak of 2018.

Among them are seven presidential candidates behind bars: Juan Sebastián Chamorro, Félix Maradiaga, Cristiana Barrios de Chamorro, Miguel Mora, Noel Vidaurre, Arturo Cruz and Medardo Mairena. Some of whom were accused of treason.

But not all are listed in the latest government statement. “Only some have been scheduled for a date to restart the processes. So far, from February 1 to 24, there are Mora and Vidaurre. But it would be necessary to see if, with the passing of days, the rest of the names appear. Or if, finally, they will not be scheduledSalazar says.

Illegal processes?

Salazar proposes several edges to understand how this type of process works, but everything can be summed up in one sentence: “There is a lot of expectation as a result of the secrecy with which the regime is managed.”

“Everyone was taken by surprise when the first political prisoners were arrested and given hearings. Even their own lawyers. It seems that they are decisions that are made from one day to the next”.

It is expected, says the journalist, that the processes are carried out illegally and in an attempt against the human rights. “The simple fact that the hearings are going to be held in the same place where the political prisoners are detained and some are psychologically and physically tortured, according to reports from relatives, says a lot.”.

The journalist refers to The Chipote, the famous “dungeon” by Daniel Ortega. The Nicaraguan Independent Media divergent has collected information on what happens there with the pre-candidates and other political prisoners:

“Dizziness and lack of energy are evident, such was the case of student leader Lesther Aleman who could barely stand during his initial hearing. Or that of Juan Lorenzo Holmann, who is afraid of losing his vision as a result of the precarious conditions in which he remains”.

Salazar adds: “We assume that they are going to be taken out of their cells and from there to another room. Although the trials are oral and public, it is almost impossible for the regime to allow access to the independent press or family members.”.

“In the press conference sent by the Public Ministry, they were practically condemned, they were not presumed innocent. The expectation remains of knowing how long the hearings are going to last, if they are going to be postponed, if they are going to be sentenced that same day, because we practically already know the result, they are going to be declared guilty.”.

The return to (terrible) normality

While the result of last year’s rigged elections, in which Daniel Ortega entrenched himself in power for fourth time in a row, there remained some hope that the international community would stand firm with Nicaragua.

“There was talk of withdrawing Nicaragua from Cafta [Tratado de Libre Comercio entre la potencia norteamericana y Centroamérica], but it has not happenedSalazar says.

And the double talk of countries like Canada have also become apparent.

“Although Canada has sanctioned several regime figures and maintains its position on the need for a return to democracy, it also has large mining companies in Nicaragua. In other words, on the one hand, they say that things are being done wrong, and, on the other, their mining companies stay and generate millions of dollars for themselves and for the regime.Salazar says.

What is coming in the short term, he adds, is that the regime will return to normality, “imposing human rights violations on political prisoners” and everything indicates that no one will be able to stop him.

“Finally, many countries have not ignored Daniel Ortega. There were no pronouncements from the United States, Brazil or Uruguay. They questioned the elections, yes, but nothing more. That tells you a lot about how isolated the country really is.”, he concludes.