The stepdaughter of the former Nicaraguan president, Daniel Ortega, has filed charges against him in a Managua court for sexual abuse and rape.

Zoilamerica Narvaez also asked the court to lift the immunity Mr Ortega enjoys as a member of the National Assembly so that he can be prosecuted.

Mrs Narvaez,who is now thirty years old, has alleged that Mr Ortega sexually abused her from the age of eleven, and raped her when she was fifteen.

Correspondents say her accusations, first made public in March, have shocked Nicaraguans.

Mr Ortega ,who leads the main opposition Sandinista party, has said he is pained by the accusations.

His wife, Rosario Murillo, has said her daughter's charges are politically motivated.