MANAGUA—A judge late on Monday sentenced former Nicaraguan presidential candidate Cristiana Chamorro to eight years of detention for money laundering and misuse of funds, in a case that government opponents argue was politically motivated. A judge will later decide if she will serve her sentence under house arrest or in prison. Chamorro and her brother were convicted of various financial crimes on March 11. They are children of former President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, who defeated current President Daniel Ortega in the 1990 elections to end his first term in power. Chamorro’s brother, Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, received a 9-year sentence from the same judge, while three workers from the free speech foundation bearing Chamorro’s mother’s were ordered to pay $2 million each. A lawyer representing Cristiana Chamorro, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to fears of reprisals, dismissed the sentence, saying there was no evidence to support the charges. …