Jason Puracal - Wrongfully Convicted in Nicaragua

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Our Own FBI Steve Moore has recently commented on the Jason Puracal Case. Wrongfully convicted in Nicaragua.

http://eon.businesswire.com/news/eon/20 ... cal-Framed

MANAGUA, Nicaragua--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--U.S. Citizen Jason Puracal continues to suffer the effects of Nicaragua’s fractured criminal justice system says family attorney, Anna M. Tolin of the Tolin Law Firm. According to Tolin, Jason has been illegally detained on false charges of drug trafficking and money laundering without a trial for more than seven months. “Recent events in this case further establish a pattern of blatant disregard for Nicaraguan law,” said Tolin.

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Retired FBI agent Steve Moore who has reviewed the case comments, "Nothing supports the charges against Jason. On the contrary there are many irregularities that actually indicate he is being intentionally framed by authorities. The state department needs to step in before he is convicted and this escalates into the next American wrongfully-imprisoned overseas media frenzy."
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Puracal’s defense attorney, Fabbrith Gomez, confirmed a surprising development about 29-year-old Krigger Alberto Artola Narvaez, who was improperly appointed to take over as trial judge in this continuously delayed case.

According to a document issued by the secretary of the Supreme Court, the new judge has never actually practiced as a licensed attorney nor was he inscribed to the bench as required by the Nicaraguan Constitution.

Narvaez was abruptly sworn in to take over this case without Supreme Court approval, “by a magistrate who had no official authorization to do so. We fear Narvaez was sent to convict Jason,” says Gomez.

A political scandal has ensued with La Prensa newspaper leading the investigation into the motives behind Narvaez’s strange appointment.

The entire legal system, dubbed by Nicaraguan judicial analysts in an article in the Tico Times as a “Sandinista kangaroo court,” has been under fire by the international community.

Constitutional analyst Gabriel Alvarez, quoted in the Tico Times article, confirms that "Nicaragua has lost all its institutional legitimacy and rule of law,” despite substantial funding from the United States and others intended to promote a reliable judicial system in the country.

U.S. Congressman Adam Smith spoke out recently against Nicaragua’s detainment of Jason Puracal earlier this month stating, “They presented no evidence of a crime here. They have simply kidnapped and held him for a period of time and that is not in compliance with international law, it’s not even in compliance with Nicaraguan law.”

Despite allegations the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) provided written confirmation to Congressman Smith that the DEA Country Attaché in Managua had no involvement in this investigation. According to Tolin, “The DEA’s willingness to denounce any involvement is further confirmation that Jason is innocent.”

Meanwhile Puracal’s life remains at risk.

Nicaragua press confirmed today a recent rash of inmate violence, including the murder of a drug trafficker, alleging that the price paid for his life was $2,000,000.

The murder was committed just one cell block away from Puracal's by an inmate with a 9mm pistol that was apparently smuggled into the prison.


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http://www.komonews.com/news/local/125860513.html
July 19

SEATTLE -- It's been seven months now since Jason Puracal was first locked up in a Nicaraguan prison to await trial on charges of money laundering and drug trafficking.

Puracal's family calls the charges bogus.

"I'm not going to let my brother sit and rot in prison for 30 years, especially in a Nicaraguan prison," said sister Janis Puracal.

Janis is on a mission to free her brother, but she's running out of time.

"His trial date is scheduled for Aug. 9. That's coming up really quickly," she said.

If convicted, he could spend the next three decades inside a dark, cramped cell thousands of miles away. And Janis may never see him again.

A graduate of the University of Washington, Jason moved to Nicaragua nine years ago and started working in real estate. Last November, Nicaraguan police arrested him along with 10 other men, and charged them with drug trafficking.

Former FBI agent Steve Moore says those charges are trumped up.

"I have no idea why Jason is in jail right now," said Moore. "It is certainly not based on any credible evidence."

Moore heard about Jason's case a month ago and decided to review it on his own.

"I kept going through page after page, wondering when I would find the thing," he said.

Nicaraguan authorities say Puracal transferred large amounts of money between several bank accounts -- evidence, they say, that shows he is a drug trafficker.

"Or he might be a real estate broker, which he was," Moore said. "This guy needs some help from the American government."

Nicaraguan prosecutors also claim the Drug Enforcement Administration tipped them off about Jason. But a letter obtained by KOMO News from the Department of Justice states the DEA is not involved at all.

Meanwhile, Janis says her brother is wasting away behind bars.

"He's probably about 40 pounds lighter," she said of his weight loss since being jailed.

Her congressman, Adam Smith, D-Wash., is now asking the U.S. State Department to intervene before it's too late.

"We are just frantic at this point," said Janis.

Janis is afraid her brother will not get a fair trial. She says the judge appointed to hear Jason's case is the 29-year-old nephew of Nicaragua's Supreme Court magistrate.

She says the State Department has so far refused to help; they have not returned her calls.

http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailywee ... _jaile.php

July 20, 2011

Jason Puracal and his supporters are hoping for someone, anyone, to take an interest in his plight. Locked in a Nicaraguan jail cell on charges of money laundering and drug trafficking--charges he strongly denies--the 34-year-old Tacoma-raised man and his friends and family have tried and failed to get the U.S. State Department interested in his case.

But now Puracal can at least add the voices of a former FBI agent and a current U.S. Congressman to the growing list of supporters calling "bullshit" on the charges against him.

Speaking to KOMO News and previously Enhanced Online News, retired FBI Agent Steve Moore says he began viewing Puracal's file more than a month ago, and has concluded that the charges are "not based on any credible evidence."

According to a website set up since his arrest, Puracal is a UW graduate and a former Peace Corps volunteer who stayed in Nicaragua after serving his stint there and went on to become a real-estate agent and a father.

The site claims that Puracal has been severely mistreated in jail including being starved, beaten, and injected with drugs against his will.

Other news coverage reports that Puracal has blamed his arrest on a "Sandinista land grab."

Puracal, a native of Washington State, claims he has not committed any crimes and suspects his arrest is part of an attempted Sandinista "land grab" of properties where he has invested money in San Juan del Sur and Jinotega.
The evidence lined up against Puracal apparently consists mainly of bank records that show large amounts of money being transferred into and out of an account (Puracal says the transactions are simply escrow account activity by his clients buying houses).

Also, the Nicaraguan government says that the American DEA tipped them off about Puracal, but the DEA denies any involvement in the affair.

Rep. Adam Smith has also take notice of Puracal's situation, recently saying:

"They presented no evidence of a crime here. They have simply kidnapped and held him for a period of time and that is not in compliance with international law, it's not even in compliance with Nicaraguan law."
Whether any of this will get the State Department to pay attention remains to be seen.

But for now Puracal's supporters are likely happy to just be keeping his name in the news.

Follow The Daily Weekly on Facebook and Twitter.

Tags:
bogus charges, drug trafficking, FBI Agent Steve Moore, Jason Puracal, money laundering, Nicaragua, Peace Corp

http://mynorthwest.com/?nid=11&sid=527924

Aug 9 - Jason's Trial is starting.

A trial has begun in Nicaragua for a former Tacoma man whose family insists is being held on bogus drug charges.
Nicaragua officials allege Jason Puracal was part of an international drug trafficking ring. He has been in a maximum security prison in Managua since November 11, 2010.

Puracal's sister, Janice, a Seattle lawyer, has been fighting tirelessly for his release, arguing there's no evidence. She said he's basically the victim of an illegal kidnapping and torture and he's been treated like an animal since his arrest.

"He was beaten in the back of the head with a revolver and then he was denied food and then denied water for days at a time. Every day he has no idea whether that's going to be the day he gets stabbed in prison," she said.

Puracal recently recorded a five-minute message while at a courthouse on the conditions in prison.

"We, the accused, were taken out at 4 a.m. and have not had breakfast or water," Puracal read from a letter he wrote, referring to the circumstances under which he was brought to the courtroom.

"They had us all take off our shirts, handcuffed us in pairs, placed us in a van and had us put our shirts over our heads with our heads between our knees," he read.

Jason Puracal, an American citizen from Tacoma, moved to Nicaragua after joining the Peace Corp in 2002.

"He loved Nicaragua so much and then he met his wife Scarleth and they had a son together and so he wanted to raise his son in that environment," said Janis.

Puracal found a new life in the village of San Juan del Sur, where he worked as a successful real estate agent. It may be his success that contributed to his imprisonment.

"They essentially said this: People who launder money have money. Jason Puracal had money. Therefore, he must be a money launderer," said retired FBI agent Steve Moore, who has reviewed Puracal's case.

Moore is not only convinced that there is no evidence, but that the charges against Puracal have been entirely manufactured by the Nicaraguan police. He's also convinced that the U.S. State Department has done absolutely nothing to help.

"What they could do is start living up to their responsibilities to American citizens overseas," he said.

Congressman Adam Smith sent a letter to the State Department, urging Secretary of State Clinton to get involved in Puracal's case.

"Nicaragua has a history of sort of leveraging prosecutions against American Citizens," Smith said.

97.3 KIRO FM's Brandi Kruse contributed to this report.

Jason Puracal Interview - heartbreaking

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AH4yLy3T95o





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Podcast - Brandi Kruse and Janis Puracal on Ron & Don Show about Jason's case

http://mynorthwest.com/?nid=577&a=32406&p=&n=AudioClip

Final Arguments are being heard in the Jason Puracal trial today.

"So far the court has heard about half of the closing arguments. We heard reports that the police are not allowing the Embassy to enter the courthouse. We expect closing arguments will continue through this evening."

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Jason Wrongfully Convicted by Nicaraguan Judge

STATEMENT FROM JASON’S FAMILY:

Jason has been wrongfully convicted by the judge in Nicaragua.

We are outraged by this verdict. The prosecution did not enter a single piece of evidence against Jason, and the prosecution’s own witnesses proved that Jason is innocent. It is unconscionable what the police, the prosecution, and the judge have done to Jason.

For those of you who have been following the trial, you know that the judge had thrown out much of our evidence leaving the defense case crippled. He had also cut off the defense questioning of the prosecution’s witnesses.

Despite that, our defense team did an incredible job of proving the senselessness of the prosecution’s allegations. Even after everything that has happened over the past nine (almost ten) months, we still held out hope that the judge would do the right thing. He has, instead, convicted an innocent man.

We are, of course, prepared to appeal the verdict. In addition to the complete lack of evidence against Jason, our biggest ground for appeal is the fact that Jason has been convicted by a man who is neither a real judge nor a lawyer.

Our worst nightmare has come true. It is absolutely unacceptable and heartbreaking, but we are ready to keep fighting.

You can all bet that we will move heaven and earth to get Jason home. And we need you all to do the same.


STATEMENT FROM JASON’S NICARAGUAN DEFENSE ATTORNEY:

In Nicaragua the system is backwards. The falsely accused are forced to prove their innocence.

Jason, who is innocent, has been declared guilty by a man who is not even a real judge. The branches of government are not independent of each other. The independence of judges in making decisions does not exist, the rule of law in Nicaragua exists only on paper, but does not apply in practice.

Nothing that happened yesterday has to do with due process, in fact, the absurdity of the decision is far removed from justice.

- Fabbrith Gomez Mesa


CALL TO ACTION:

The simplest thing you can do is continue making phone calls to our state representatives. Visit the "Take Action" section of the website. We have made it very easy for you to contact our Senators and Congressman. You can tell them:

“Jason has now been wrongfully convicted by a person who is not even a judge. The time for action is now. Please call the political side of the State Department and demand action.”


http://freejasonp.com/home/2011/8/30/ja ... judge.html