NICARAGUA: POTENTIAL POLITICAL PRISONER GRANTED AMENSTY

UNCLAS MANAGUA 001264 SIPDIS DEPT FOR WHA/CEN DEPT FOR INR/IAA STATE FOR USOAS STATE PASS TO USAID/LAC STATE PASS TO MCC E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PGOV NU SUBJECT: NICARAGUA: POTENTIAL POLITICAL PRISONER GRANTED AMENSTY REF: 2008 MANAGUA XXX ¶1. (SBU) On November 18, the Nicaraguan National Assembly granted amnesty to Sandinista dissident and Catholic missionary Alberto Steffano Boschi. Mr. Boschi, who is a dual Nicaraguan-Italian citizen, fled the country for Italy in November 2008 after being found guilty and sentenced to one year in prison for his alleged aggression against a pro-Ortega journalist during a July 30, 2008 protest by youth who opposed the government (see Ref). ¶2. (SBU) Boschi, who was convicted in October 2008 by a court stacked with pro-Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) judges, always maintained his innocence. NGOs and human rights organizations condemned the sentence as political and were the first to call Boschi a political prisoner. The opposition blocks in the National Assembly that voted for Boschi's amnesty also considered that he had been a victim of "political persecution and intolerance from the ruling FSLN." Not surprisingly, the FSLN block in the National Assembly voted against the amnesty measure for Boschi. CALLAHAN