…The twelve workers are awaiting sentencing, and could receive up to three years in prison. The workers were arrested in June 2016 when riot police stormed a peaceful protest outside the SAE-A Tecnotex factory in a free trade zone in Tipitapa, Managua…The South Korean-owned factory employs 3,000 workers, and produces garments for export to companies in the United States, including Kohls, Target, JC Penney and Walmart. Tensions had been growing for some time, with workers demanding access to drinking water, health care and realistic production targets…The conflict escalated when two leaders…were fired…In a move never before seen in Nicaragua’s free trade zones, riot police were sent to quell the disturbance…IndustriALL general secretary…wrote to the chairman of SAE-A Tecnotex…calling on the company to drop separate charges against the trade union leaders…