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Jason Puracal (born May 31, 1977) is an American who was wrongly sentenced to serve 22 years in prison in Nicaragua on charges of drug trafficking, money laundering, and organized crime.〔http://mynorthwest.com/?nid=11&sid=537585〕 Puracal's case went before the Appeals Court on August 16, 2012, nearly one year after his original conviction. On September 12, 2012, he was acquitted of all charges by the Appeals Court.〔 〕 Many experts came forward supporting Puracal's innocence including the California Innocence Project, former DEA agent Thomas Cash, former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Irwin Cotler and Freedom Now founder and human rights attorney Jared Genser. Puracal's case is being managed by The David House Agency, an international crisis resource agency based in Los Angeles. On September 12, 2012 he was one of 12 people whose charges were vacated, according to his legal team and a judicial order signed. As of September 14, 2012, he has left Nicaragua and returned to the U.S. ==Case facts== According to media reports, on November 11, 2010, police entered Puracal's home and office, taking him into custody. Puracal was charged with international drug trafficking, money laundering and organized crime.〔 After being held in police custody for 8 months, on August 29, 2011, Puracal was convicted of all counts. According to taped interviews on the ''Today'' show, former DEA Agent Tom Cash believes that there was an astounding lack of evidence presented by the prosecution. After reviewing the case, he believed no financial relationship was found between Puracal and the other defendants and that the evidence of money laundering was a misunderstanding of what a real estate escrow account is. This lack of evidence prompted the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to rule that Puracal's imprisonment was, indeed, arbitrary and called for his immediate release. Further political figures have come forward in support of Puracal, including Congressman Adam Smith. Smith has publicly stated "They presented no evidence of a crime here. They have simply kidnapped and held him for a period of time and that is not in compliance with international law, it's not even in compliance with Nicaraguan law." Puracal was sentenced to five years for organized crime, seven years for money laundering and ten years for international drug trafficking, totaling 22 years. Since his sentencing, Puracal has been held in ''La Modelo'' maximum-security prison outside of Managua. The appeals hearing for Puracal and his 10 co-defendants began On August 16, 2012. No decision has been rendered. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Jason Puracal」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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