The conditions in which Cristiana Chamorro is detained 0:45
(CNN Spanish) --
The journalist, presidential candidate and former director of the "Violeta Barrios de Chamorro" Foundation for Reconciliation and Democracy, Cristiana Chamorro Barrios was found guilty this Friday of the crimes of money laundering, appropriation and improper retention , in a closed-door trial held in the prison of the Judicial Assistance Directorate, according to the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights, Cenidh.
While Walter Gómez, and Marcos Fletes, administrator and accountant of the "Violeta Barrios de Chamorro" Foundation, were found guilty of the same crimes and additionally of abusive management and ideological falsehood.
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In the trial that lasted seven days, the former liberal deputy and brother of Chamorro, Pedro Joaquín Chamorro and Pedro Váquez, the journalist's driver, were also found guilty of the crimes of abusive management, appropriation and improper retention.
"After 7 days of torture in Chipote, the spurious Judiciary declared guilty former executives and former employees of the "Violeta Barrios de Chamorro" Foundation for crimes they did not commit. We demand that they be released immediately," said Cenidh the night of Friday on his Twitter account.
According to Cenidh, the Prosecutor's Office requested 8 years in prison for Cristiana Chamorro and 13 years in prison for Gómez and Fletes;
and 9 years for Pedro Joaquín Chamorro and 7 years in prison for Pedro Vásquez.
One of the defenders, who prefers to omit his name for security reasons, told CNN that during the trial the guilt of none of the defendants was proven and that, during the judicial process, they were not allowed to talk with their clients to establish a strategy of defending.
The lawyer stated that "there is no proof because the same expert from the economic investigations department of the police said that the funds from USAID (United States Agency for International Development) were lawful and therefore there is no way how constitutes the crime of money laundering, without having money from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, human trafficking or the illegal sale of weapons".
CNN has not had access to details of this case, the Judiciary does not respond to queries from independent media and the Prosecutor's Office has not updated the information either.
The “Violeta Barrios de Chamorro” Foundation announced through a statement dated February 5, 2021, that it was closing operations in the country, in order not to submit to the recently approved Foreign Agents Law, considering it unconstitutional and in violation of human rights.
A US official, in a public statement dated May 27, 2021, stated that as part of its regular supervision, USAID conducted audits of the "Violeta Barrios de Chamorro" Foundation and found no evidence of money laundering or instances of funds have been diverted to other interests.
Before her arrest on June 2, 2021, Cristiana Chamorro had expressed to national and international media that the investigation against her was a "grim set-up" to prevent her political career for the presidency.
Chamorro is an influential journalist, daughter of former president Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, who won the presidency in 1990, and journalist Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal, assassinated in 1978 during the Somocista dictatorship.
The trial against Chamorro and the other directors of the "Violeta Barrios de Chamorro" Foundation is added to more than 40 judicial proceedings against opponents detained between May and November 2021, accused mostly of conspiracy to undermine national integrity, charges of which they plead not guilty.
