Ortega brands captured American a ‘terrorist’

Press, 18 December 1986, Page 11

Ortega brands captured American a ‘terrorist’

NZPA-Reuter Managua The Nicaraguan President, Daniel Ortega, says the arrested American, Sam Hall, is a terrorist and will stand trial before a people’s tribunal, the same court which, last month sentenced the American gun-runner, Eugene Hasenfus, to 30 years jail. Mr Ortega said yesterday that Hall was not a spy, even though he was captured outside an Air Force base last Friday with maps of military installations and other places of strategic interest stuffed in his socks.

“He is a mercenary, dedicated to terrorist activities,” Mr Ortega said. He added that Hall would be judged by a. people’s tribunal, which was "for judging terrorists

and he is a terrorist.” Mr Ortega did not say when the trial would take place or what the charges would be. Hall, aged 49, from Dayton, Ohio, was still being questioned by the police, he said. “He has admitted that he was looking for information on military matters such as helicopters and military airports,” Mr Ortega said.

The Interior Minister, Tomas Borge, has said that Hall also had maps of Tipitapa, where Hasenfus is in prison, and Nicaragua’s main port of Corinto, on the Pacific coast.

Mr Ortega said the Nicaraguan Government believed Hall was working indirectly for the United

States Government. Hall had admitted working with the rebels in Honduras and crossing the border with them on raids into Nicaragua, Mr Ortega said.