Nicaraguan congress gives legal footing to practice of prosecuting exiles and seizing their property

Associated Press

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Nicaragua’s Sandinista-controlled National Assembly has approved criminal code changes that allow the government to try opponents in absentia and seize the assets of the condemned. It’s a practice that’s already carried out that will now have legal foundation. The proposal from President Daniel Ortega was approved unanimously Tuesday in the state party controlled legislature. Opponents and organizations that have fled or been forced into exile in Ortega’s years-long campaign to silence critical voices could be fined, sentenced to lengthy prison terms and see their property seized by the government under the approved changes.