Nicaragua to Begin Trial of Hasenfus Today; Propaganda Move Indicated

Eugene Hasenfus, 45, of Marinette, Wis., a crew member of a munitions-laden plane shot down over Nicaragua on Oct. 5, goes on trial here today in a proceeding that promises to be as much an exercise in propaganda as in Sandinista justice.

Hasenfus faces judgment by one of the Sandinista’s Popular Anti-Somocista Tribunals, special courts that hear political and subversion cases. Charges against him will be announced today, and there is little doubt among local observers that he will be accused and eventually convicted of illegally ferrying arms into Nicaragua destined for U.S.-backed guerrillas fighting the government in the countryside.

Hasenfus parachuted safely from a C-123 transport plane hit with a surface-to-air missile fired by Sandinista soldiers. Two other Americans, pilot William J. Cooper of Reno and co-pilot Wallace B. Sawyer Jr. of Magnolia, Ark., died in the downed plane, which Hasenfus has said flew from El Salvador with a load of weapons and ammunition.

“Justice must be done,” President Daniel Ortega said during a weekend press conference. “The airplane was caught . . . in the middle of the act.”

The prosecutor can be expected to offer evidence not only on Hasenfus’ ill-fated flight but also on U.S. support for the contras, as the anti-Sandinista guerrillas are called.

A propaganda buildup has been evident here all week. As is common practice, the official Sandinista newspaper Barricada linked the contras’ activities to terrorism and said that Hasenfus’ flight was no exception.

Today’s opening trial session will be public.

The Popular Anti-Somocista Tribunals get a part of their name from dictator Anastasio Somoza, overthrown by the Sandinistas in 1979. The Sandinistas routinely label all government opponents Somocistas.

Hasenfus will be defended by Enrique Sotelo Borgen, a Nicaraguan lawyer. Former U.S. Atty. Gen. Griffin Bell, due here later this week, will assist Sotelo Borgen in the trial.