2 de mayo 2022
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Political prisoner, former congressman, and leader of the Citizens for Freedom party, Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Barrios, was transferred from the Judicial Assistance Directorate (DAJ) prison, known as El Chipote, to his home, due to the deterioration of his health after more than 300 days of being imprisoned as part of the repressive wave unleashed by the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo in 2021.
Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Barrios, the eldest son of former Nicaraguan President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro and the Martyr of Public Freedoms, Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal, was arrested on the night of June 25, 2021, on charges of carrying out acts that undermine the sovereignty of Nicaragua.
People living in a residential area in the vicinity of the Church of Las Sierritas de Santo Domingo saw the arrival of a DAJ minibus in which the prisoner of conscience was being transported, escorted by two police vehicles, on the afternoon of April 30.
The Public Prosecutor's Office of the regime has not yet issued an official statement concerning the health situation of Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Barrios, 70 years old, which motivated his transfer to his home.
Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Barrios was sentenced to nine years in prison in a political process carried out in the Chipote prison. Six years were for the alleged crime of misappropriation and improper retention, and three for alleged abusive management. He was sentenced together with his sister, former presidential candidate and former president of the Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Foundation, Cristiana Chamorro Barrios.
Due to the mistreatment and the deplorable conditions in prison, Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Barrios' health has gradually deteriorated, causing him to lose weight and suffer from various chronic illnesses.
When he was condemned after a trial plagued with legal irregularities and breaches of due process, Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Barrios took an oath before God and the country and told Judge Luden Martín Quiroz “you represent the country”. He swore in the memory of his father, national hero Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal, his mother - former President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro - his wife, and his four children. “I have committed no crime. I am not guilty of what they are accusing me of,” he said, according to his defense lawyers.
He said he had never taken money from the FVBCh or misappropriated anything that did not belong to him. That the only thing he did for ten years was to manage a family patrimony (the condominium of four Farallon apartments in San Juan del Sur) in which he and each of his brothers contributed a part of the funds necessary for the maintenance of the property.
He also said that if anyone could blame him for misusing that money, it would be his brothers who deposited their money in that account, “but I have a clear conscience that I did the right things,” he stressed on that occasion.
This article was originally published in Spanish in Confidencial and translated by our staff
