Belgian student arrested for trying to bring water to hunger strikers will come before Nicaragua court

Belgian student arrested for trying to bring water to hunger strikers will come before Nicaragua court
The Managua criminal court announced Coppens' trial date on Saturday night. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Belgian-Nicaraguan medical student Amaya Coppens (24) will stand trial in Nicaragua on 30 January 2020, the criminal court of Managua announced on Saturday.

Coppens faces charges of possessing an illegal weapon. She will be tried alongside 15 others.

The 24-year-old was arrested on 14 November when she tried to bring water to relatives of imprisoned political activists who went on hunger strike at the San Miguel Church in Masaya, 30 kilometres from the Nicaraguan capital of Managua. The hunger strikers were demanding the release of 130 people who are being detained in connection with demonstrations in the country, RTBF explains.

Amaya was already arrested and imprisoned in September 2018 for her participation in demonstrations against the regime of Daniel Ortega. She was released on 11 June under an amnesty law, after eight months in prison.

Hundreds of people have been killed in Nicaragua since protests erupted in April 2018 in several cities across the country.

Evie McCullough

The Brussels Times


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