Cristiana Chamorro remains confined in her house, isolated and under surveillance
Cristiana Chamorro, the Nicaraguan opposition figure most likely to win the November elections, in which President Daniel Ortega is aiming for re-election, was held isolated in her home for 24 hours on Thursday, isolated and under heavy police guard.
This is practically "a kidnapping", said her lawyer, Orieta Benavides, who said that no member of the legal team defending Chamorro has been able to contact her.
Chamorro, daughter of former president Violeta Barrios de Chamorro (1990-1997) who defeated Ortega in the 1990 elections, is being held at her home in southern Managua after a judge ordered her arrest and search in a case of alleged money laundering.
"House arrest, as established in the legislation, is not what is happening in practice with Cristiana," assured her lawyer, for whom Chamorro "should not be held in solitary confinement" nor be deprived of communication with her family and her defence.
"It is a situation that goes beyond what is legal and makes it practically a kidnapping," said Benavides.
The official Twitter account of Chamorro, who was banned from participating in the electoral contest on the grounds of "not being in full enjoyment of her civil and political rights", continues to be active, although she has not posted any messages since the night of 1 June.
The European Commission urged Ortega to "release" Chamorro and warned that legal action against the opponent "is incompatible with a credible, transparent and open electoral process for the opposition and its candidates".
"The European Union (EU) urges her immediate release and the immediate reversal of measures against her rights," EU foreign affairs spokesman Peter Stano wrote in a tweet.
The UN, on the other hand, pointed out that the Nicaraguan Government has the responsibility to guarantee Chamorro's safety as well as the safety of all political leaders.
"We are fully aware of the recent legal actions taken against Cristiana Chamorro," said Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary General António Guterres, who said the measures against Chamorro "create the risk of worsening confidence" in the upcoming elections.
According to opposition jurist and former Nicaraguan vice-chancellor José Pallais, Ortega is "now holding Chamorro as a hostage" with the aim of "negotiating" the withdrawal of sanctions imposed by the United States, the EU, the United Kingdom and Canada on more than twenty relatives, close associates and companies linked to the Sandinista leader, who are accused of "serious human rights violations" and "corruption".
Democrat Bob Menendez, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said "it is time" to use the tools provided by the US Congress to sanction those who undermine democracy in Nicaragua.
In a statement sent to Efe, Menéndez condemned the "authoritarian actions" of Ortega, who, in his opinion, demonstrates "an absolute disregard for the rule of law and the fundamental pillar of any democracy: free, fair and transparent elections".
"Looking at how Ortega's desperate regime is increasingly determined to become Latin America's third dictatorship, I am more committed than ever to work with Secretary (of State, Antony) Blinken and the Biden Administration to ensure democratic elections that allow Nicaraguans to take control of their own political processes and economic opportunities”, the Cuban-born senator added.
Chamorro, who is 67 years old, is also the daughter of the journalist Pedro Joaquín Chamorro, a critic of Anastasio Somoza's dictatorship and assassinated in 1978.
She is vice-president of the Managua daily La Prensa and managed the NGO Fundación Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, dedicated to the protection and promotion of freedom of the press and freedom of expression, which was closed down last February to avoid being subject to a law that requires representatives of organisations that receive funds from abroad to register as "foreign agents".
According to the Nicaraguan Ministry of the Interior, the Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Foundation "seriously failed to comply with its obligations towards the Regulatory Body, and from the analysis of the Financial Statements, period 2015-2019, clear indications of money laundering were obtained", for which reason "the Public Ministry has been informed in order to (open) the appropriate investigation".
For this case, the Public Prosecutor's Office has called some twenty journalists to testify as witnesses, as well as the writer, novelist and former vice-president of Nicaragua Sergio Ramírez Mercado in his capacity as legal representative of the Luisa Mercado Foundation, which had a relationship with the Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Foundation.