Page 12 - aruba-today-20181215

A12 WORLD NEWS
Saturday 15 december 2018
Nicaraguan police raid NGO offices, seize records

By LUIS MANUEL GALEANO cado by authorities.
Associated Press Ortega reversed the so-
MANAGUA, Nicaragua cial security changes, but
(AP) — Nicaraguan police the protests continued un-
have raided the offices til students were cleared
of five nongovernmental from university campuses
organizations and an in- they had been occupying
dependent media outlet, and the public was fright-
alleging that they partici- ened into curtailing public
pated in seeking the gov- demonstrations. Mean-
ernment’s overthrow. while, police pursued and
The raids were the latest arrested many of the al-
strong-arm actions taken leged leaders of the pro-
by the government of tests — in some cases just
President Daniel Ortega. people who had occupied
Since popular street pro- neighborhood roadblocks
tests destabilized his gov- — and brought terrorism
ernment in April, Ortega charges against them. Car-
has reconsolidated power los Fernando Chamorro
and methodically pursued said police knew perfectly
perceived enemies. Police well that the offices of his
on Thursday forced open media outlet were not part
doors and carried off doc- of his nonprofit Center for
uments and computers An employee walks through a ransacked office of the non-governmental organization Popol Na Communication Research,
from the Nicaragua Center Foundation, in Managua, Nicaragua, Friday, Dec. 14, 2018. but they came anyway.
for Human Rights, Segovias Associated Press “They came to take com-
Leadership Institute, River Center for Communica- attempt against Ortega. curity forces and paramili- puters, cameras, docu-
Foundation, the Center for tion Research. There was Vilma Nunez, president of taries since street protests ments and papers of busi-
Communication Research no official comment from the human rights center, began in April after chang- nesses that are not (the
and the Foundation for the police or government had sent a desperate plea es to the country’s social se- communication research
Municipal Promotion and about the raids. They for help Thursday evening curity system. The seizure of center), but rather produc-
Development. Police also came after National As- before the raid, saying the their records could poten- ers of the website Confi-
raided the offices of the sembly lawmakers loyal to offices were surrounded by tially expose many victims dencial and the programs
media outlet Confidencial, Ortega voted earlier in the police. “Riot police entered to further persecution by “Tonight” and “This Week,””
which is run by Carlos Fer- week to cancel the organi- the office like thieves, they the government. Protesters Chamorro said. “They know
nando Chamorro, the son zations’ legal status. At that came in through the roof,” and family members came where the (center) offices
of former President Violeta time, Sandinista lawmakers Nunez said Friday. to the human rights offices are, and what they did was
Barrios de Chamorro. Car- said the groups had pro- Her organization has been to file reports about torture, affect the work of inde-
los Fernando Chamorro is moted and financed what critical in documenting disappearances and cases pendent media outlets to
also the president of the they say was a failed coup abuses by government se- of people held incommuni- silence us.”q

Brazil faith healer wanted by police as abuse cases mount

Associated Press the ages of 10 and 14. She ers from around the world,
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A said that he stopped rap- all looking for spiritual guid-
celebrity faith healer, ac- ing her when she got preg- ance or cures for afflictions.
cused of sexual violence nant by one of his employ- He gained international
by hundreds of women ees. Teixeira said she was exposure in 2012, when
throughout Brazil, was be- beaten so severely by her Oprah Winfrey visited his
ing sought by police Friday father that she suffered a retreat to interview him for
after a warrant was issued miscarriage. “My father is a her talk show. In a since-
for his arrest. monster,” she said. deleted column on oprah.
The U.S. Embassy in Brazil “In most sexual abuse com, Winfrey wrote that
put out an alert telling peo- cases, victims will come she was overwhelmed by
ple to contact Brazilian au- forward gradually as the the experience of seeing
thorities if they had suffered investigation develops, but him cut into the breast of
abuse at the hands of Joao in this instance, we were a woman without anesthe-
Teixeira de Faria. In this handout photo released by Agencia Brasil, spiritual healer flooded from the start,” sia and that she left feeling
The allegations against de Joao Teixeira de Faria, better known as John of God, arrives to Luciano Miranda Meire- “an overwhelming sense of
Faria surfaced last week the Dom Inacio Loyola House in Abadiania, Brazil, Wednesday, les, one of the prosecutors peace.”
when several individuals Dec. 12, 2018. Associated Press assigned to a task force Many of the de Faria’s ac-
appeared on a Globo Tele- created to investigate de cusers say they were mo-
vision show claiming that became famous for con- Faria’s adult daughter, Dal- Faria, told The Associated lested while children. A
he had been sexually vio- ducting “psychic surgeries” va Teixeira. Press. court dismissed a 2010 suit
lent with them or relatives. that he said could cure dis- In an interview published Representatives for the law involving an alleged sexual
De Faria had worked as a eases, including cancer. Friday by Brazilian maga- office representing de Far- molestation of a 16-year-
faith healer for the last four Since the first allegations, zine Veja, Teixeira said that ia said that they were not old girl by Faria after the
decades in a small town more than 300 people have under the pretense of mys- making statements on the defense argued that there
in central Brazil under the contacted authorities, and tical treatments he abused case at the time. was not enough evidence
name Joao de Deus. He the accusers include de and raped her between De Faria attracted follow- to prosecute the case. q