Contra Tribunal Affirms Conviction of Rebel Chieftain Accused of Murder

WASHINGTON — A Nicaraguan rebel appeals tribunal upheld the conviction of one commander, exonerated another officer and reduced charges against four others in a torture-murder case, a Contra spokesman said Thursday.

Five of the six Contras were given dishonorable discharges--the stiffest penalty that can be handed out by a Contra internal court system that was set up in 1987. Leniency was recommended for one and another was freed of the charges, according to a document obtained by the Associated Press.

The Contra tribunal, made up of four lawyers living in Miami, issued a lengthy statement, finding that rebel commander Isaac Blacker Hurtado, known as Israelita, “had the premeditated intention of murdering Managua 2,” the nom de guerre for the deceased.

Managua 2 was suspected of being an agent of Nicaragua’s Sandinista government. The six Contras were charged last March by a Contra court in connection with his death and several rapes in northern Nicaragua. The United States pressed for the investigation.