On 10/16/06, Jim Devine <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
whatever happened to the sex-crime accusations againt Ortega?
Zoilamérica Narváez's accusation is available at: <http://www.sandino.org/zoila.htm>. What happened to that? Dismissed due to the statute of limitations, appealed, and apparently still pending. <blockquote>In 1999, with the help of the CENIDH, Zoilamerica Narvaez filed a complaint with the IACHR against her stepfather, FSLN leader, National Assembly Deputy, and former President Daniel Ortega (a candidate in the November general election) accusing him of sexual molestation and harassment. The case publicized the problems of incest, rape, and women's rights and also highlighted the issue of immunity from prosecution for parliamentary deputies. In 1999 the IACHR officially opened a case in response to Narvaez's complaint and advised the Government that it would be required to respond to the charges; in September 2000, the Government responded that the claims made by Narvaez were unfounded and merited no further investigation. The Government argued that the State did not violate her constitutional rights because the legislative and judicial branches gave her case due consideration. On October 19, the IACHR decided to accept the Narvaez case and was investigating it at year's end. A formal hearing is scheduled for March 2002. On December 12, Ortega renounced his congressional immunity from prosecution to face Narvaez's charges. However, on December 19, Judge Juana Mendez dropped the rape charges against Ortega on the grounds that the 5-year statute of limitations, which began when Narvaez filed her complaint in 1999, not his December renunciation of immunity, had run out. Narvaez appealed the decision, and the case was pending in the courts at year's end. ("Country Reports on Human Rights Practices -- 2001," 4 March 2002, <http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/wha/8315.htm>)</blockquote> <blockquote>In May the Appeals Court denied the appeal by Zoilamerica Narvaez of the December 2001 decision of Judge Juana Mendez to drop sexual molestation, harassment, and rape charges against Daniel Ortega on the grounds that the 5-year statute of limitations had expired. The case was before the Supreme Court at year's end. On March 4, the IACHR held a hearing on the Narvaez case, focusing on the issue of whether the Government had denied Narvaez due process. The Government subsequently expressed its willingness to accept an "amicable solution" to the dispute, discussions on which were underway at year's end. ("Country Reports on Human Rights Practices -- 2002," 31 March 2003, <http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2002/18339.htm>)</blockquote> <blockquote>By year's end the Inter-American Court of Human Rights had not ruled on the 2003 complaint of Zoilamerica Narvaez that the government had denied her due process in 2002 by dropping sexual molestation, harassment, and rape charges against her stepfather, former president Daniel Ortega. ("Country Reports on Human Rights Practices -- 2005," 8 March 2006)<http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61734.htm></blockquote> To complicate the matter, Narváez's own mother Rosario Murillo, her own brother Rafael, and others have denied it vehemently.
From here, it is impossible to tell the truth.
-- Yoshie <http://montages.blogspot.com/> <http://mrzine.org> <http://monthlyreview.org/>
