A judge in Nicaragua has issued an arrest warrant for opposition activist Felix Maradiaga, accusing him of having financed anti-government protests.
Hundreds of people have been killed since the wave of protests began in April. Maradiaga, who is believed to be outside Nicaragua, has denied any wrongdoing.
He also said that he believed it was his duty to continue the “civic struggle” against the government.
Hundreds of people have been arrested in connection with the protests and human rights group say more than a hundred are still being held.
A report by the United Nations Office on Human Rights published last month said government opponents had been “persecuted and criminalised”.
Relatives and friends of a detained student gather in front of El Chipote jail
Many of those who led the protests have gone abroad for fear of being detained. Maradiaga recently spoke before the United Nations Security Council of what he said was the “climate of terror and indiscriminate persecution” in Nicaragua.
Prosecutors accuse Maradiaga and two other men, Pío Arellano and Jean Carlos López, of organised crime and financing terrorism.
They say the three men used the think-tank Maradiaga heads, the Institute of Strategic Studies and Public Policies, to channel money to the protesters.
The funds were allegedly used to train demonstrators in how to destabilise the government of President Daniel Ortega. (BBC)
