Nicaraguan kangaroo courts convict opposition leaders of 'conspiracy'

Nicaraguan Journalist and former presidential hopeful Miguel Mora was sentenced to 13 years in prison on Wednesday for “conspiracy to undermine national integrity,” representing the latest decision handed down by dictator Daniel Ortega’s kangaroo courts.  

The ruling against Mora was the latest in a series of political trials orchestrated by the regime against 46 opposition political figures – including seven presidential hopefuls who were arrested ahead of the Nov. 7 elections, in which Ortega ran almost unopposed, the Wall Street Journal reported. 

On Tuesday, sportswriter and government critic Miguel Mendoza was convicted on similar charges alongside former foreign minister Francisco Aguirre Sacasa. Both men are expected to be sentenced in the upcoming days.

Former Sandinista rebel commander Dora María Tellez, who led an assault against the Somoza family dictatorship in 1978, is yet another regime enemy who remains in prison.

Following the fall of the Somoza dictatorship in 1979, Tellez served as health minister in Ortega’s first government – which ruled from 1979 to 1990. She later left Ortega’s party, however, and became a leader of the opposition Sandinista Renovation Movement – putting her at odds with the dictator.

Ana Margarita Vijil, the former leader of the movement, has also been found guilty of the same charges.

But lawyer Vilma Nunez, head of the Nicaraguan Human Rights Center, previously stated that the hearings would be little more than a show and that the outcomes were likely already decided.

“This looks like it will be preordained convictions of innocent people,” Nunez said.

“Nobody should be confused. These are not trials,” Nunez said. “These are repressive farces that the regime uses to issue convictions and continue to intimidate the people.”