Nicaragua Will Hold US
Man
By Bayardo Mendoza,
Associated Press
MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP)
— Nicaraguan prosecutors
on Wednesday filed an
appeal to the country's
Supreme Court to
overturn the acquittal
of a U.S. man on charges
of killing his
Nicaraguan girlfriend,
blocking efforts to win
his release.
Eric Volz, 28, of
Nashville, Tenn., will
continue to be held
under custody until the
appeals process is
exhausted, said
prosecutor Isolda
Ibarra.
Nicaraguan authorities
avoided releasing Volz
following a ruling by an
appeals court on Monday
to overturn his
conviction and 30-year
prison sentence in the
death of Doris Ivania
Jimenez, 25. The case
has struck an emotional
chord in Nicaragua,
given the brutality of
the crime.
"Today we presented the
appeal, and the law is
clear: that the release
is suspended until the
high court rules on the
case," Ibarra said.
Ibarra said there is no
time limit for the
Supreme Court to act on
the case. She argued
that the lower court
that threw out Volz's
conviction had violated
judicial norms by
"rejecting witness
testimony."
Volz and a Nicaraguan
man, Julio Martin
Chamorro, were sentenced
in February for the
death of Jimenez, who
was found raped and
strangled in November
2006 in a clothing store
she owned in Rivas, 55
miles south of Managua.
The appeals court upheld
Chamorro's conviction.
Volz has proclaimed his
innocence from the
beginning, saying he was
in Managua, two hours
away from Rivas, when
the crime occurred. At
that time, Volz had
lived for two years in
Nicaragua, where he
founded a bilingual
magazine called "El
Puente," or "The
Bridge." He also worked
as a real estate broker.
Prior to Wednesday's
announcement, U.S. State
Department spokesman Tom
Casey had told reporters
that the U.S. officials
"want to see him (Volz)
be able to depart the
country and return to
his family."
Volz's mother, Maggie
Anthony, arrived in
Nicaragua on Wednesday
to press for the release
of her son, who is being
held under guard at a
hospital for treatment
of kidney stones.
"What I am asking the
authorities is that,
according to the court's
ruling, my son should be
freed," Anthony told
local reporters through
an interpreter.
Volz's lawyer, Fabbrith
Gomez, accused officials
of "a big delaying
tactic" to keep Volz
from being freed before
prosecutors could file
the appeal.
Nicaraguan officials
have openly criticized
the appeals court
decision to overturn
Volz's conviction. The
head of the office of
the Attorney General for
the Promotion of Human
Rights, Omar Cabezas,
called the ruling
"monstrous, repugnant."
Mayra Sirias,
coordinator of
Nicaragua's Network of
Women Against Violence,
condemned Volz's
acquittal as "the
product of a corrupt
judicial system that let
a killer and rapist go
free."
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