On Monday, Nicaraguan justice imposed sentences of more than 200 years in prison on opposition leaders Medardo Mairena and Pedro Mena for participating in the violent protests against the government of Daniel Ortega last years.
Mairena was sentenced to 216 years in prison for “terrorism” and six other crimes attributed by the Prosecutor to his participation in the protests, including the death of four police officers and a civilian, said lawyer Julio Montenegro, from the non-governmental Commission Permanent Human Rights (CPDH).
The sentence was handed down by Judge Edgard Altamirano, who also sentenced Mena to 210 years in prison for terrorism and other crimes in the context of protests whose repression left 325 dead and hundreds of people arrested, said Montenegro.
These are exaggerated penalties that have never been contemplated before in Nicaragua. However, the defendants will only serve the maximum penalty of 30 years established by Nicaraguan law.
The sentences were handed down after the judge convicted them last December and the prosecution had requested a sentence of 76 years in prison for Mairena and 63 for Mena.
Both men were transferred from the jail to the courts of Managua on Monday to hear their sentences without prior notice to their lawyer, who managed, however, to obtain the sentence record and talk for a few minutes with his defendants. The lawyer announced they’ll appeal the sentences because they had proven the leaders did not commit those crimes.
It’s worth mentioning the Prosecutor’s Office is controlled by officials affiliated with the ruling party.
Repression of the protests left more than 750 detainees accused of “terrorism” and other crimes based on a law passed last July that criminalized protests with up to 20 years in prison.