NCJ Number
133896
Date Published
1987
Length
42 pages
Annotation
This report updates the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights' 1985 report on human rights and the judicial system in Nicaragua and examines steps being taken by the anti-Sandinista insurgents ("contras") in response to allegations of human rights abuses.
Abstract
The delegation met with government officials, private organizations that assist human rights victims, former prisoners, and relatives of prisoners charged with violations of the national security laws. The delegation also conducted interviews with prisoners and with civilians who live in areas occupied by the contras. The report describes ongoing and serious human rights violations by the Sandinista government in the prosecution of alleged security offenders in the revolutionary court system and in reliance on the Police Courts to jail perceived government opponents without even the pretext of a fair trial. The Lawyers Committee views the Central American Peace Agreement as an opportunity to end the abuses documented in this report. The committee recommends the abolition of the Popular Anti-Somocista Tribunals created in 1983 as well as the Police Courts. Based on findings from other human rights investigations and the committee's own investigation, the report concludes that the contras have abducted and murdered civilians and conducted armed attacks on civilian targets. The contra leadership has resisted independent monitoring of contra activities. The appendixes contain the pardon law, the amnesty law, and the law to repeal the Emergency Decree which have been submitted by the President to the National Assembly.