# Criminal-procedure reform enabled detention for up to 90 days before charges

Date: 2021

A reform to Nicaragua's Code of Criminal Procedure enabled judges to extend detention for investigations for periods reaching 90 days before formal charges, replacing the prior 48-hour framework described by Human Rights Watch. The IACHR and OHCHR later documented use of the reform in the pretrial detention of opposition presidential precandidate Arturo Cruz during the 2021 electoral crackdown. [Human Rights Watch](https://www.hrw.org/es/news/2021/11/29/documento-sobre-derechos-humanos-en-nicaragua-para-el-embajador-fiallo-presidente?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

## Drivers

- Ortega–Murillo family autocracy: https://factrail.ai/drivers/ortega-family-autocracy

## Sources

- https://www.hrw.org/es/news/2021/11/29/documento-sobre-derechos-humanos-en-nicaragua-para-el-embajador-fiallo-presidente
- https://www.oas.org/en/IACHR/jsForm/?File=%2Fen%2Fiachr%2Fmedia_center%2FPReleases%2F2021%2F145.asp

## Methodology

https://factrail.ai/methodology

Canonical: https://factrail.ai/facts/ninety-day-precharge-detention-reform-2021