MANAGUA – The Nicaraguan government sanctioned 17 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that have been critical of President Daniel Ortega for acting “on the fringes of the law,” according to an official source.

The director of the government ministry's Association for Registry and Control, Gustavo Sirias, indicated to the media that those 17 NGOs committed “illicit acts” in signing agreements with other organizations that are not legally registered with the association.

Sirias said the NGOs were fined between 1,000 and 5,000 córdobas ($51 and $255), for signing a total of 58 agreements with movements that are not recognized legally. The total amount of the fines was not specified.

Sirias added that the NGOs offered their legal personnel so that movements without legal representation could apply for resources from international cooperatives.

Sirias stopped short of saying the NGOs have committed crimes, such as tax evasion, by “lending” their legal representation to groups that are legally nonexistent.

But he did say he will send the list of the fined NGOs and civic movements that are operating illegally to see if they have committed crimes or not to the Public Ministry.

Among the sanctioned NGOs that could lose their legal status, said Sirias, is the Research Center for Communication (CINCO), which is directed by journalist Carlos Fernando Chamorro, son of former Nicaraguan President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro (1990-1997).

Another threatened group is Center for International Studies (CEI), directed by Alejandro Bendaña, ex-husband of Zoilamérica Narváez, Ortega's stepdaughter who has accused him of rape.

Ortega himself alleged that these NGOs have “favored” the Women's Autonomy Movement (MAM) and the September 28 Campaign for the Decriminalization of Abortion in Latin America, which does not have legal representation.

Those are the two women's rights groups that announced last August that there existed a global pact of similar organizations to condemn Ortega, whose stepdaughter accused him of raping her.

The international women's pact responded as well to the support Ortega has given to legislation that would prohibit all types of abortion in Nicaragua.

The Civil Coordinator, a conglomerate of 600 civic organizations without legal recognition by the Nicaraguan government, has condemned that the Nicaraguan organizations critical of Ortega are being fined, saying they are victims of “political persecution” by the executive branch. The Ortega administration denies the charge.

According to official statistics, 4,461 organizations are registered with the government, of which 3,758 are active and the other 703 are either inactive or operating outside of legal requirements.