Appeal underway in Nicaragua for Tacoma man

Nearly a year after his conviction on charges that he laundered drug money, an appeal is underway in Nicaragua for Tacoma man Jason Puracal.

According to his supporters, the hearing was scheduled to begin Thursday before a three-judge appellate panel in Granada, Nicaragua. Request for official confirmation from the Nicaraguan government went unanswered.

The office of U.S. Congressman Adam Smith of Washington state confirmed that the hearing began as scheduled.

“My heart goes out to Jason’s family as we continue to fight for Jason to get a chance at a fair trial,” Rep. Smith said in a statement. “Continued vigilance for respect of international law in Jason’s case and awareness of Jason’s circumstances are vital as we urge the Nicaraguans to reach a just resolution. Despite the injustice of Jason’s original trial, I am hopeful that a fair ruling can be achieved in his appeal.”

The Nicaragua Dispatch filed the following report from inside the hearing Thursday:

“Entering the courtroom in handcuffs and led by police officers armed with assault rifles, U.S. citizen Jason Puracal took his place in a metal chair alongside 10 other Nicaraguan defendants this morning to begin his long-awaited appeal hearing before a three-judge tribunal.

“I’m hanging in there,” Puracal, 35, told The Nicaragua Dispatch from his corner chair, moments before his appeal hearing started this morning at 9:10. “I hope they follow the law.”

Reporter Tim Rogers wrote:

“In a tiny and packed courtroom presided over by Judge Roberto Rodriguez—the same appellate judge who absolved U.S. citizen Eric Volz in the high-profile murder case of Doris Ivania Jimenez in 2007—the hearing started on a positive note for Puracal when the judges agreed to admit a letter from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) as part of the evidence in his defense.

The letter states that the DEA has no knowledge of Puracal’s involvement in any international criminal activity. The letter was deemed impertinent and inadmissible during the original criminal proceedings last year, so it’s inclusion in the appeals process is viewed as a positive gain by Puracal’s defense team.

Two additional pieces of evidence that lawyer Fabbrith Gomez tried to present in Puracal’s defense-a video of President Daniel Ortega participating in a political event at one of the farms that was allegedly used for money laundering, and another video of Puracal selling beach homes in San Juan del Sur on House Hunters International—were not admitted by the appellate judges.”

Puracal, 35, was arrested in Nov. 2010 at his real estate office in the seaside village of San Juan del Sur. The Nicaraguan National Police claim he was part of a drug trafficking operation that brought cocaine up from Costa Rica.

Following his trial in Aug. 2011, Puracal was convicted and sentenced to 22 years in La Modelo, a maximum security prison on the outskirts of Managua, Nicaragua’s capitol city.

During an interview with KIRO-FM in the town of Rivas, Puracal denied the charges.

“Anybody that’s ever met me will tell you what kind of person I am and will tell you it’s not in my nature,” said Puracal, who was handcuffed and surrounded by armed guards. “I wouldn’t be involved with any of the thing I’m accused of.”

“It’s like something out of a movie,” he said.

Puracal moved to Nicaragua with the Peace Corps in 2002 after he graduated from the University of Washington.

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. Smith, 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.”

Supporters of Puracal are confident that his conviction will be overturned on appeal.

“In his initial trial, not one ounce of drugs or one cent of money was ever entered into evidence. We are confident that this tribunal responsible for granting Jason his due process will also find it apparent that Jason is an innocent man,” said Eric Volz, managing director of the David House Agency. The agency works with U.S. citizens facing complex legal situations abroad.

“The one year anniversary of his conviction is Aug. 29, we hope to have him home by then,” Volz said.

While the appeal hearing is expected to last five days, it is unclear how long it will take the panel to rule.