Nicaragua admits case against 3 former presidential candidates

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(CNN Spanish) -

The Nicaraguan Judicial Branch admitted the accusation and sent the former presidential candidates Félix Maradiaga, Juan Sebastián Chamorro and Arturo Cruz Sequeira and other opposition leaders to trial for the alleged crime of "conspiracy to undermine national integrity "In accordance with articles 410 and 412 of the Penal Code, to the detriment of Nicaraguan society," the Public Ministry reported in a statement published this Friday.

Arturo Cruz was arrested on June 5 at the Managua International Airport, while Félix Maradiaga and Juan Sebastián Chamorro were arrested on June 8.

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Maynor Curtis, Juan Sebastián Chamorro's defense attorney, told CNN that the evidentiary facts presented at the initial hearing do not demonstrate the participation of his client in the charges.

Norwin Danilo Cruz, Arturo Cruz's lawyer, told CNN that the evidence presented against his client is not sufficient to prove his guilt and the process presents several anomalies such as the secret holding of a preliminary hearing, and the holding of the initial hearing in the jail.

Jared Genser, defense attorney for Maradiaga and Chamorro, said in a statement that the hearings in a "prison regime" violate what is established in national and international laws.

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The Nicaraguan government has not spoken out about holding hearings in jail.

President Daniel Ortega, referring to the more than 30 detainees under the sovereignty or money laundering law, said on August 13 on a national television network that it was not he who was going to judge them, but the Prosecutor's Office and the judiciary.

The Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (Cenidh) denounced this Friday through its Twitter account that "more secret hearings continue to be held in El Chipote," which the organization considers a violation of the guarantees of due process against Juan Sebastián Chamorro , José Pallais, Violeta Granera, Félix Maradiaga, Tamara Dávila, Manuel Orozco and Dora María Téllez.

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The judicial authority maintained the preventive detention measure for the former presidential candidates and issued an arrest warrant against Manuel Salvador Orozco, who is a fugitive from justice.

In the same initial hearing, the same charges were also presented against José Adán Aguerri, José Pallais, Violeta Granera and Tamara Dávila, who have been detained since June, as well as Víctor Hugo Tinoco whose initial hearing was held on Thursday, the Public Ministry reported.

The Public Ministry also reported the initial hearings to opponents Mauricio Díaz, Francisco Xavier Aguirre Sacasa, Suyen Barahona, Hugo Torres and Dora María Téllez, for the alleged crime of "conspiracy to undermine national integrity" in accordance with articles 410 and 412 of the Penal Code.

The Judiciary also gave them preventive detention and admitted the accusation.

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Two defense lawyers who prefer to preserve their identity and who defend several of the defendants told CNN that the alleged evidence is messages from social networks and travel itineraries abroad that do not demonstrate the relationship of the defendants with the alleged facts.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), through the Special Follow-up Mechanism to Nicaragua (Meseni), expressed on its social networks this Friday that it "continues to monitor the situation of people arbitrarily detained in the electoral context, who have been accused by the Prosecutor's Office for alleged crimes of 'conspiracy to undermine national integrity' and money laundering. "

Nicaragua has presidential elections scheduled for November 7.

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