MANAGUA: A Nicaraguan bishop who has been a sharp critic of the government of President Daniel Ortega and who has been under house arrest since August was charged on Tuesday with conspiracy and propagation of false news, a judicial body reported.

Bishop Rolando Alvarez, 56, was charged with 'crimes of conspiracy to undermine national integrity and propagation of false news through information and communication technologies to the detriment of the Nicaraguan state and society,' the Central Judicial Complex of Managua said in a news release.