25 Political Prisoners Freed by Sandinistas
The Sandinista government released 25 political prisoners Saturday in a move that an opposition leader said showed “flexibility” in compliance with the Central American peace accords.
The prisoners, mainly opposition leaders, were among 38 who had been held since police forcefully broke up a July 10 demonstration in Nandaime, about 40 miles southeast of Managua.
The 25 were ordered freed by a regional appeals court in Grenada. The same court announced the official internment of the 13 others, including Carlos Huembes, a key opposition figure.
“The Sandinistas are showing flexibility in their positions to create the conditions for the compliance of the Esquipulas II (peace accords) and political dialogue with the opposition,” said Gustavo Tablada, secretary general of the Nicaraguan Socialist Party.
The Central American peace accords signed by the region’s five presidents in Guatemala in August, 1987, called for an amnesty for political prisoners, dialogue between governments and armed opposition groups and an end to outside interference in each country’s internal affairs.
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