Nicaraguan Police Re-Arrest Political Prisoner and a Human Rights Lawyer
CPDH lawyer also detained by officers in Masaya
“I do not know what they have against my son. He is not a criminal, or a dangerous person,” said Margine Blandon, mother of Navarrete
HAVANA TIMES – The Police of Daniel Ortega’s regime rearrested former political prisoner Jaime Navarrete on July 24th. He is apparently being held in the infamous El Chipote interrogation jail after being abducted from his home, in the Santa Rosa neighborhood in Managua.
Following the arrest, the agents returned to his house to carry out several searches. The last one was done on Friday, when they took a computer.
The Prosecutor’s Office accused Navarrete in June of last year of killing Ariel Vivas, supposedly when he participated in the Clean Up Operation, executed by the Government, on June 12, 2018 in Managua. The former political prisoner was sentenced, without any evidence, to 22 years and nine months in prison. He was released last month, after a year in prison, under the Amnesty Law approved by the dictatorship. However, the police harassment continued until he was captured again last Wednesday.
Margine Blandon, mother of Navarrete, told the media that she does not know what is her son’s condition and is worried that his lawyer has not been able to see him yet. She insisted that her son has been continuously harassed since he was released from prison in June.
“What else do they want from him?”, Blandon questioned. “Since he was released they have been pursuing him. A man passed by on a motorcycle and pointed at him. For them he is a persona non grata. I don’t know what they have against my son. He is not a criminal, or a dangerous person. He is a quiet boy and I can say that he does not pry into other people’s business,” she said.
Yonarqui Martinez, Navarrete’s lawyer, explained that the National Police has not made a pronouncement regarding the reasons for the arrest. Family members have only been told that he is under investigation.
“I am preparing a habeas corpus appeal. Jaime had denounced the besiegement from the Police. Today they made several searches. They arrived, they raided and they came back again, and took a computer and other things,” said Martinez.
The mother of Navarrete reported that last year, after his first arrest, the Police ransacked her son’s house and the same thing happened with her’s last Wednesday. “We don’t know what they have placed, my son has not had weapons, he has never had drugs or anything like that, and if they placed something, I accuse them, because they are the criminals, not my son,” she said.
Human Rights lawyer arrested in Masaya
Attorney María Oviedo, of the Permanent Commission on Human Rights (CPDH), was arrested by officers of the Masaya police station on Friday July 26th. The defense lawyer was accompanying the released political prisoner Cristhian Fajardo, from the same city, to file a complaint for the loss of a firearm.
In the police station, Fajardo was put in an office where he was interrogated for several minutes. Lawyer Oviedo managed to enter the same room to be present in the questions and answers process. After several questions and many offenses, Fajardo left the site, because the officers informed him that they were not going to receive the complaint until he answered who had the weapon he was reporting as lost.
“I am realizing that they arrested Ms. Oviedo. They told me to leave and that they were not going to receive the complaint. Well, I left before they changed their mind about letting me go,” Fajardo told the media.
Upon learning of the arrest of Oviedo, CPDH directors traveled to Masaya to learn why the lawyer was left under arrest in the police cells. When entering the city, a police patrol followed them until a few blocks before arriving at the station. They blocked the passage of the vehicle for a few minutes and then allowed them to continue.
At the police station, the authorities informed the CPDH lawyers that Oviedo was arrested for “assaulting an officer.” The agents showed a video to the defense lawyers in which, supposedly, Oviedo slapped the officer who had grabbed her waist.
Marcos Carmona, director of CPDH, told the media that the detention of his colleague was an abuse of authority. Carmona indicated that Oviedo was really grabbed by the neck and shoved into a cell. He said that the video presented was edited and that the officer had other intentions.
Oviedo continues detained in the cells of the Masaya station. The officers informed the CPDH lawyers that Oviedo would be presented before the local court on Saturday morning.