Former president appears in court, says charges against him are political

Описание: (14 Dec 2002)

Managua, 13 Dec 2002
1. Various of former Nicaraguan President Arnoldo Aleman arriving at court escorted by riot police
2. Supporters of Aleman (Liberal Party) chant and greet Arnoldo Aleman
3. Aleman waves to supporters
4. Aleman enters the court building
5. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Arnoldo Aleman, Former Nicaraguan President:
"All deputies of the Central American Parliament enjoy immunity."
6. Cutaway to the wife and children of Aleman.
7. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Arnoldo Aleman, Former Nicaraguan President:
"Immunity has not been taken away and this is why no judge, or tribunal, of the Republic can claim jurisdiction to process me."

Managua, 12 Dec 2002
8. Wide shot of the interior of the Nicaraguan National Assembly voting
9. Liberal parliamentarians leave Assembly with Aleman

Managua, 13 Dec 2002
10. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Agustin Aleman, brother of Arnoldo:
"Enrique Bolanos (current President) was never a liberal, he used my brother's lap to get to power, to be president. There are serious judicial errors which can be used to accuse a President, this is what is happening to my brother."
11. Various vox pops of local residents regarding the vote

STORYLINE:

Former president of Nicaragua Arnoldo Aleman appeared in court on Friday to dismiss charges that he stole 100 (m) million US dollars from his own government as part of a political witchhunt.

Congress had voted Thursday to strip the former head of state of immunity from prosecution.

Hours later he was placed under house arrest at his home outside the capital Managua, before being brought to court.

Smiling and wearing a hat with his party's initials, Aleman told Judge Juana Mendez on Friday that Congress had no right to strip him of his immunity.

He refused to enter a plea to the charges.

It was the first time in the history of Nicaragua that a former president has faced criminal charges.

Aleman, who has previously denied the accusations against him, was accompanied to court by his wife and children, and his supporters chanted his name outside the heavily guarded courtroom.

Prosecutors say Aleman diverted nearly 100 (m) million US dollars in state funds to Panamanian bank accounts controlled by his family and then channelled the money to candidates of his Constitutionalist Liberal Party.

He left office in January 2002.

The former president has also been accused of mis-spending 1.3 (m) US million dollars of public funds that were destined for a state-controlled television station.

Aleman became a lawmaker upon leaving office, and Thursday's vote did not remove him from the legislature.

As the last lawmaker to speak before the vote, a visibly shaken Aleman called the accusations against him a political witchhunt and used a slide projector to address prosecutors' charges one by one.

President Enrique Bolanos, who served as Aleman's vice president, took office pledging to clean up the corrupt government.

Aleman's supporters had threatened violent protests if he was stripped of immunity, but they never materialised.

Instead, Nicaraguans celebrated the move by setting off fireworks.

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