Dear President Bush,

I'm not sure if you are aware of the case of Eric Volz. Eric Volz is an American citizen and political prisoner in Nicaragua. Last year, Eric's ex-girlfriend was brutally murdered while Eric was in Managua, two hours away from the scene of the crime. Ten witnesses testified on behalf of Eric and his innocence.

Unfortunately, the Nicaraguan media decided to make this a political issue by proclaiming Eric's guilt simply because he is an American. The Nicaraguan media has been successful in demonizing Eric to the point of a lynch mob forming to attack Eric and a U.S. Embassy official before his trial last year. The Nicaraguan judge was obviously intimidated to the point of throwing out all of Eric's witness testimonies and finding Eric guilty. Eric was sentenced to 30 years in jail for a crime he didn't commit, a crime he couldn't have committed.

Over the past year, I along with Eric's family and friends have looked for assistance from the U.S. government in freeing Eric. We have had dozens of conversations with Congressmen and State Department officials. All of the government officials we have heard from believe Eric to be innocent. Yet the American government hasn't so much as lifted a finger to help a citizen being held as a political prisoner in a foreign company.

This week in Nicaragua, an appeals court overturned Eric's conviction and acquitted him. Yet Eric remains in jail.

Once again the Nicaraguan media has inflamed the populace by asking that people "take justice into their own hands". Nicaraguan officials have acquiesced by appealing the acqquital, during which time they intend on jailing Eric indefinitely until the Supreme Court can hear this case.

As an American citizen, I am embarrassed that the U.S. government has done nothing to right this injustice. When Iran took American hostages in 1979 for political reasons, the U.S. government worked hard to release them. The Iran Hostage Crisis was obviously complicated by the volatile situation in the Middle East at the time.

There are no such complicating factors in Nicaragua.

On Independence Day 2006, you said "this country remains a beacon of hope for all who dream of liberty". Quite frankly, this statement rings hollow in light of Eric's situation. A more cynical person might go so far as to say that had Eric been imprisoned in a Middle Eastern country, that the U.S. government would have moved heaven and earth to free him.

I still believe that this country is indeed a beacon of hope for those who dream of liberty and freedom of oppression. President Bush, I ask that you move heaven and earth to free Eric Volz.

Respectfully yours,

Will Hinton
willhinton@gmail.com
404-210-1821

Full details of Eric's situation can be found on my blog at http://www.goodwillhinton.com/topics/eric_volz

For those that would like to sign on in support of this letter, please use the comments to leave your name.

Also, please forward this letter on to anyone you know that could get this to the White House.

Call the White House (202-456-1414). Light up the switchboard. Ask what they are doing to FREE ERIC.

Take action today, before it's too late!

We are asking everyone to contact (a phone call would be more immediate, but follow up with an email if you can!) their elected representatives in the next few hours, to ask them to pressure the Nicaraguan government to carry out Eric's legal release from prison. The reason this is so urgent is that Nicaraguan government offices leave tomorrow for the lengthy holidays... we need the US government to act IMMEDIATELY to compel the Nicaraguan government to honor their own law and release Eric Volz!

Call your representative with the question "What is being done to expedite Eric Volz's release from Nicaraguan custody?"

BE INFORMED!

READ THIS: Associated Press story: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jGlrnMklKMa1DSqmiTxcJLaMvRhwD8TKU66O1

TAKE ACTION: (Will Hinton: I have modified this a bit. Call the White House. Flood the switchboard. Many in Congress and in the State Dept. know about Eric. The White House is the key to making something happen)
White House: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/ or main switchboard: 202-456-1414

Details are changing almost hourly, but here's what we know as of 10:30am Central, December 20th:

Judge Ivette Toruno, who initially convicted Eric for Doris' murder, is required to sign his release papers, but she has created various excuses to avoid doing so.

In the meantime, the original prosecutor of Eric's case (Isolda Ibarra) is attempting to overturn the Appellate Court ruling, and is filing an appeal to the Nicaraguan Supreme Court. She is asking that Eric be held in custody (illegally) until the Supreme Court rules. Typically, Supreme Court cases take years to process.

Nicaraguan law says that the order of the Appellate Court to free Eric should not be overridden by the filing of a Supreme Court appeal, but that Nicaraguan law is being ignored.

If Eric is held, he will certainly be moved back to the penitentiary, and may not be afforded even the minimal protection he had previously - he will be in the gravest of danger. Eric has kidney stones, and is still recovering from intestinal issues and severe asthma, which is why he has been in the prison hospital for more than 2 months now.

This morning, Penitentiary Director Molina dispatched a truck to take Eric back to the prison. This forced his visit with his mother Maggie to be cut short, due to security concerns.

Thanks to the following blogs for linking to this story:
Instapundit
The Agitator
Looking Closer
Common Grounds Online
Conservative Grapevine
American Tradition
white knuckled wanderer
Philosomatic

Technorati Tags: Eric Volz Politics eric volz nicaragua managua ep magazine doris jimenez judge toruno cnn anderson cooper freed conviction