Reports: Imprisoned Tacoma man denied appeal in Nicaragua

A Tacoma man who claims he has been wrongly imprisoned in
Nicaragua has been denied an appeal, according to family
members and an international crisis agency that has taken
on his case.

In 2011, a Nicaraguan court convicted Jason Puracal, 35,
of drug trafficking, money laundering and organized crime.
He was sentenced to 22 years in La Modelo, a dilapidated
prison on the outskirts of Managua.

Puracal, a University of Washington graduate who moved to
Nicaragua in 2002 with the Peace Corps, was arrested
inside his RE/MAX real estate office in the seaside
village of San Juan del Sur in Nov. 2010.

Nicaraguan authorities claim Puracal was laundering drug
money through his business to fund an operation that
brought cocaine into the country from Costa Rica.

During an August 2011 interview with 97.3 KIRO-FM in
Rivas, Nicaragua, Puracal denied the charges.

“Anybody who’s ever met me will tell you what kind of
person I am and will tell you that it’s not in my nature.
I wouldn’t be involved with any of the things that I’m
accused of,” Puracal said. “It’s like something out of a
movie.”

In recent months, U.S. politicians have come to the
defense of Puracal, demanding that the Nicaraguan
government show evidence of his guilt or set him free. In
May, 43 members of Congress, including Rep. Adam Smith of
Washington, sent a letter to President Daniel Ortega,
urging that he order an independent review of the case.

“We wish to convey our serious concern about the trial and
appeal of American citizen, Jason Puracal,” reads the
letter, dated May 9, 2012. It argues that Puracal was
denied due process and is being held in a prison that does
not meet internationally accepted standards of human
rights.

” … there is a compelling need for a thorough and
objective prosecutorial review of Mr. Puracal’s case to
determine his innocence under Nicaraguan law,” the letter
reads.

Also in May, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary
Detention called for Puracal’s immediate release after
finding that his detention was in violation of
international law.

At the time, Janis Puracal, Jason Puracal’s sister,
believed the ruling would apply international pressure on
the Nicaraguan government to set her brother free.

“There are experts at the U.N. who have agreed that
Jason’s detention is arbitrary and demanded that he be
immediately released,” said Janis Puracal, a Seattle-based
attorney. “What this means for us, is now the
international community has spoken here and demanded
Jason’s release … and the Nicaraguan leadership is going
to have to respond to that demand in some way.”

Hopes for Puracal’s release seemed to rest on a scheduled
June 25 appeal before a three-judge appellate panel in
Granada, Nicaragua. The David House Agency, an
international crisis resource organization that aids
Americans who face legal battles abroad, has now said the
appeal was inexplicably canceled.

It has not been rescheduled, said Janis Puracal.

“He has a right to appeal. He absolutely has that right,”
she said. “I don’t believe, in my heart, that they can end
things here.

“It feels like we’re working against the world at this
point. It’s so frustrating for us. We’ve had thousands of
people screaming for Jason’s release, including the U.S.
government and experts from around the world, and the
Nicaraguan government has not released him.”

Janis Puracal will travel to Nicaragua next week in an
attempt to meet with Nicaraguan officials. She will be
joined by her younger sister, Jaime Puracal.

According to U.S. Rep. Adam Smith’s office, Puracal’s appeal has not been officially denied, but has not moved forward as scheduled.