'No case' on Nicaragua ex-leader

The former president faces a range of corruption charges

Judicial officials in Nicaragua have called for fraud charges against former President Arnoldo Aleman to be dismissed, citing lack of evidence.

The Attorney-General's office has urged the courts to drop the case against Mr Aleman, who is also accused of money laundering and embezzlement.

The prosecutor in charge said there was insufficient evidence under Nicaraguan law for the case to go ahead.

Mr Aleman is accused of embezzling more than $100m of public funds.

The 57-year-old ex-president, who left office at the beginning of last year, has been in detention for nearly a year.

Aid withdrawn

On Wednesday, the authorities transferred Mr Aleman from prison to house arrest on the grounds of his ill-health.

The United States has said it will withdraw judicial aid to Managua worth $49m in protest at the decision. Opinion polls show ordinary Nicaraguans also object to the move.

The prosecutor in charge of the case against Mr Aleman, Mayra Paiz, told the BBC that under Nicaraguan law, there had to be concrete proof of links to drug-trafficking for a money laundering case to be brought to trial.

As for the embezzlement and fraud charges, these required an audit, which had not been carried out in Mr Aleman's case.

The judge hearing the case said she would consider the request to drop the charges but added that, even if there was no evidence of links to drug-trafficking, this did not mean the former president would be cleared of all charges.