Julia Cristina Hernández

Julia Cristina Hernández, sentenced to 18 years in prison without being proven guilty

On November 30, 2019, Julia Cristina Hernández, 34, was arrested by the Police of the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo for allegedly being involved in the murder of José Ugarte alias “Chabelo”.

Ugarte lost his life in a police operation that same day, she was arrested without any criminal proceedings being opened against her and released 9 days later.

Neither the Police nor the Prosecutor’s Office could prove her involvement at that time and now Julia’s 9-year-old son and her elderly mother, who suffers from a disability, are no longer in her care.

The regime Police decided on January 7, 2021 to carry out a raid on her house without a court order, arresting her again and this time also taking her husband Eduardo José Morales Corea.

Using the canine technique, officers from the Directorate of Special Operations (DOEP) entered the house looking for weapons and drugs that they did not find and disappeared for 15 days.

Julia is originally from the “El Jocote” region of Masaya. As of April 2018, she had an active participation in the civic protests against the regime, particularly in that department of Nicaragua.

On January 22, 2021, the authorities of the Comprehensive Women’s Penitentiary System (EPIM) of Granada allowed Julia to call her relatives. Julia and her husband Eduardo were accused of the crime of internal trafficking in narcotics, psychotropics and other controlled substances and manufacturing, possession and use of restricted weapons, being sentenced in a criminal proceeding full of annulments and violations of due process.

The trial had to be suspended due to lack of evidence by the Prosecutor’s Office and various human rights organizations pointed out that it was riddled with irregularities.

Despite this, Julia was notified of the sentence where she was sentenced to 18 years in prison and a fine of 50,000 cordobas, by Judge Irma Laguna Cruz.

For IM-Defenders, the case of Julia Christina, like that of many others, is riddled with violations of due process and is “consistent with the same pattern of criminalization” of social protest applied to other political prisoners in the country.

She has chronic diabetes and spinal problems, however, in an attempt to minimize these effects, the prison authorities have indicated that she does not have any disease.

The arbitrary detention of her and her husband has caused great pain and anguish for her family, especially her little son and her mother due to the situation of vulnerability in which they find themselves and the economic problems they are going through currently.

Freedom for Julia Cristina Hernández!

We demand from the Ortega-Murillo regime: Free Nicas Now!