High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet updates the Human Rights Council on the situation in Nicaragua

High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet updates the Human Rights Council on the situation in Nicaragua

Geneva, February 27th, 2020. During the 43rd period of sessions of the United Nations Human Rights Council, High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet updated the Member States on the situation in Nicaragua, which has suffered a human rights crisis since April 2018, assuring them that repression continues from various fronts.

“Since the presentation of my last report in September 2019, human rights violations have not ceased, within the framework of an extremely complex political and social context,” the High Commissioner stated.

The High Commissioner highlighted the lack of guarantees for the safe return of more than 98,000 Nicaraguans who have left the country; the persistence of threats and intimidation against victims’ organizations and their lawyers; violations of the right to peaceful protest and the rights to freedom of opinion and expression; threats and physical attacks against journalists; arbitrary detentions and the situation of 61 political prisoners; and the recent homicides in rural communities in northern Nicaragua and in indigenous communities in the Caribbean region.

The High Commissioner also noted with regret that nine civil society organizations remain without legal status, the government having cancelled their registrations in December 2018.

In her oral report, the High Commissioner urged the Government of Nicaragua to release those who remain deprived of liberty for reasons related to protests, to guarantee safe conditions for human rights defenders to carry out their work freely and to take all the necessary measures to guarantee the free exercise of journalism.

Finally, the High Commissioner encouraged the Government to implement the recommendations made by her Office and other international and regional mechanisms with urgency. In particular, she reiterated the recommendation to allow the OHCHR to revive its country mission in Nicaragua.

This update concludes the High Commissioner’s mandate for Nicaragua, which had been granted for only one year on March 21st, 2019 by the Human Rights Council under resolution (A / HRC / 40 / L.8) “Promotion and protection of human rights in Nicaragua.”

The Nicaraguan delegation that traveled to Geneva to participate in the 43rd period of sessions of the UN Human Rights Council has held meetings with several diplomatic missions, urging the adoption of a new resolution on Nicaragua to renew the mandate of the High Commissioner.

This delegation is composed of students, former political prisoners, human rights defenders and members of the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH), Nicaragua Never Again Collective, Association of Mothers of April (AMA) and the Articulation of Social Movements (AMS).

This morning in Geneva, Nicaraguans Vilma Núñez, Dilon Zeledón Ramos and Lizeth Dávila held a conversation on the human rights situation in Nicaragua with First Vice President of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Joel Hernández and United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association Clément Voulé,. The event was organized by the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality), the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) and Civicus, and co-sponsored by the International Federation of Human Rights and the Initiative Mesoamerican Defenders (IM-Defensoras).

Rapporteur Clément Voulé said he had “strong reasons to believe that alarming restrictions to the right of peaceful assembly continue through the violent repression of peaceful protest and an array of measures preventing peaceful assemblies from taking place.” He also reiterated to the Nicaraguan state his willingness to visit the country and to “provide technical support for the country to adhere to the rule of law, democracy and the protection of human rights.”

IACHR Vice President Joel Hernández regretted that a vicious circle of human rights violations is intensifying due to the lack of judicial independence. “Measures for reparation, justice and non-repetition must be given immediately to begin to emerge from this crisis, otherwise we will continue immersed in this vicious circle,” he stated.

Participants also called on permanent missions in Geneva and civil society organizations to keep the theme of Nicaragua on the agenda of the Human Rights Council.

#ONUporNicaragua: Race and Equality calls for the renewal of the mandate of High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet for Nicaragua

February 21st, 2020. The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) recently launched the #ONUporNicaragua campaign to ask the UN Human Rights Council to renew resolution A/HRC/40/L.8, “Promotion and protection of human rights in Nicaragua,” originally adopted on March 21st, 2019 for a one-year period. This resolution expressed concern about the allegations of serious human rights violations committed in Nicaragua since April 2018 and increasing restrictions on civic space and expressions of dissent. The Resolution urged the Nicaraguan government to respect the human rights of its citizens, to return to the National Dialogue with protestors and other elements of civil society, and to resume cooperation with international organizations, including the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), and the Organization of American States (OAS).

The core of the resolution is the mandate given to High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet to prepare periodic reports on the situation in Nicaragua and present them to the Human Rights Council. Thus, in July 2019, Deputy High Commissioner Kate Gilmore presented an oral report, and in September 2019, High Commissioner Bachelet released a detailed written report on the progress of the situation of Nicaragua, including recommendations to the State of Nicaragua. The next oral update will take place on February 27th, during the 43rd session of the Human Rights Council.

Race and Equality considers the renewal of this mandate to be of the utmost importance, as it will allow the human rights violations which continue to occur in Nicaragua to be exposed and discussed at the UN Human Rights Council. As a result, the Council can continue to propose solutions and echo the demands of the Nicaraguan people: truth, justice and reparation for the victims of repression.

These images show the importance of the renewal of the OHCHR mandate in the words of Nicaraguans:

91 political prisoners are released in Nicaragua, but harassment continues

Washington DC, January 9, 2020. On December 30th, the Nicaraguan government released 91 political prisoners who had been detained in prisons across the country for anywhere from two to eighteen months. Among the released were sixteen activists arrested for bringing water to a group of prisoners’ mothers who were staging a hunger strike to demand the release of their children.

The move was announced as pressure grows in Nicaragua and internationally for the liberation of political prisoners. The government allowed the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Office of the Nicaraguan Human Rights Ombudsman and the Apostolic Nuncio of Nicaragua, Waldemar Sommertag, to take part in the process.

Political prisoners were transferred to their homes and placed under house arrest, according to the Nicaraguan authorities. As a result, they still have judicial proceedings pending against them and restrictions on their movement.

The 16 activists known as the “water carriers” denounced on Wednesday that their judicial process was “completely irregular and marked by a series of restrictions which make it very clear that we continue to be treated as guilty, although we have not been judged.” Their trial is scheduled for January 30.

According to data from the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH, by its Spanish acronym), among the 91 released, there are 41 who have already been convicted, 39 who are still being prosecuted and 4 who were detained but never had charges brought against them.

Repression continues

Several former political prisoners have also reported that since their release, they have been threatened and harassed by groups linked to the government and police.

The young Belgian-Nicaraguan Amaya Coppens and her family have suffered several aggressions. On January 1st and 2nd, a group of men aboard motorcycles threw black oil on the walls of their house in Estelí and threw stones at their windows. Police have also lurked near the house constantly since her release.

“The attacks continue on a daily basis. It is difficult knowing that my family is still victimized, but we are trying to stay protected as best we can,” Coppens said on Wednesday.

CENIDH requested that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) examine the possibility of irreparable damage to the family’s rights to life and physical integrity. CENIDH also called for the Commission to urge the State of Nicaragua to cease the “aggressions and harassment by officials and para-police groups” against the family.

Last December, the IACHR granted precautionary measures to Amaya and the other 15 young people detained for bringing water to the protesting mothers, finding that their life and physical integrity were at risk in the custody of the Judicial Directorate in Managua.

Other former prisoners, including Roberto Buchting, have reported constant harassment, including the continuous surveillance of their homes by para-police groups, threats over social media and even invasions of their homes with the intent to intimidate them.

Still in prison

After an extensive review of the lists of released persons, CENIDH confirmed that 65 political prisoners are still to be released.

“Our commitment to the liberation of all people and all of Nicaragua is firmer than ever. Despite the fact that a group of 91 people was released on December 30th, there are still more than 65 political prisoners, including Katherine Martínez and the trans activist Mayela Cruz,” said the group.

Race and Equality demands the immediate release of all political prisoners in Nicaragua, the closure of legal proceedings against them and the cancellation of their criminal records. We call on the authorities to cease repression, harassment and persecution against those who were arbitrarily imprisoned. It is essential that their return home is free from any threat or attack against them or their families.

Statement by Civil Society Organizations on the Occasion of the Oral Update Regarding the Situation in Nicaragua to be Delivered by the UNHCHR

December 11th, 2019.  We, the undersigned civil society organizations, would like to express our alarm to United Nations High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet regarding the escalation of repression in Nicaragua and the unwillingness of the Nicaraguan State to respond to the appeals contained in the resolution ‘Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in Nicaragua’ (A/HRC/40/L.8) approved by the United Nations Human Rights Council in March 2019.

To that end, nearly a year after the adoption of the aforementioned resolution, we the organizations that sign the present statement wish to report that the concerns, requests, and appeals contained in said resolution continue to be valid today:

1. The grave human rights violations committed in Nicaragua since April 2018

The assaults, threats, and reprisals continue against human rights defenders, journalists, indigenous people, Afro-descendants, LGBTI persons, former prisoners, relatives of victims of repression, boys, girls, and adolescents, members of the Catholic Church, and citizens exercising their right to dissent.  Illegal forced entries and degrading treatment by the police continue being recorded, as occurred in the recent case with the Reyes Alonso family.  Police violence that produces lethal effects is ongoing, above all in the countryside, where organizations have recorded the assassinations of some 30 campesino leaders between April 2018 and September 2019 in incidents that could constitute extrajudicial executions.

2. Restrictions on civic space and expressions of dissent in Nicaragua

The legal status of nine non-governmental organizations that were shuttered in December 2018 with the goal of ending decades of work in defense of human rights and democracy has not been restored.  Their assets are in the hands of the police.  The media outlets Confidencial [Confidential] and 100% Noticias [100% News] continue being unable to broadcast on open television and their offices and work equipment have been illegally occupied for nearly a year.

3. Respect for the rights to freedom of assembly, association, and expression

The police restriction to respect the right to protest has not been nullified.  Nor has the government addressed the appeal of the international community to release persons who have been arbitrarily or illegally detained.  While it is true that more than 400 people were released from prison between February and May of this year, the Alianza Cívica por la Justicia y la Democracia [Civic Alliance for Justice and Democracy] reports that through November, at least 159 people continue to be jailed, including two adolescents.  Those political prisoners include 16 defenders detained in November for bringing water to a group of mothers on a hunger strike.  These people are criminalized for their opposition to the government and their work denouncing [violations] and protecting human rights.

4. Cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner, mechanisms of the Human Rights Council, and the organs created by virtue of competent treaties, as well as the Organization of American States and Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)

On August 30, 2018, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nicaragua rescinded the invitation to the OHCHR and in December 2018 decided to expel the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI) and the IACHR’s Special Monitoring Mechanism for Nicaragua (MESENI) from the country.  Since then, they have not been able to reenter the country, despite multiple requests.

5. The resumption of the National Dialogue

The government continues refusing to rejoin the Dialogue Roundtable, nor does it accept civil society organizations’ willingness to comply with the roadmap that had been approved by the previous Dialogue begun in February 2019.  While the Nicaraguan Assembly approved Law 985 in January of this year, whose purpose is to “establish the general legal framework that guarantees a culture of dialogue,” this law does not take into account the multiple human rights violations that have transpired since April 2018, nor does it consider members of the opposition or human rights defenders to be subjects of the Dialogue.

6. An exhaustive and transparent process of accountability with an eye to ensuring that victims of human rights violations and abuse in Nicaragua can access justice and reparations

The government of Nicaragua continues denying the denunciations of human rights violations and hopes to perpetuate impunity through legal instruments such as the Amnesty Law approved in June 2019, which does not comply with human rights standards with regard to accountability and has not included civil society participation in its process of adoption and the Comprehensive Attention to Victims Act approved last May, which does not enshrine the right of victims to file appeals before judicial authorities and continues designating individuals opposed to the government as authors of the failed coup d’état rather than victims of repression.  Nor has it provided an explanation for the 328 assassinations documented by the IACHR or prosecuted the material or intellectual authors of those crimes.

7. Exhaustive report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights regarding the human rights situation in Nicaragua

We, the undersigned organizations, are warning about the risk of greater violence on one hand, keeping in mind that the causes that motivated the protests in April have not been addressed by the State and on the other, we anticipate tensions once elections draw near in November 2021 and the government of Nicaragua exerts greater force to ensure its reelection without essential democratic guarantees.  As of this writing, there are no indications in Nicaragua that the authorities have the will to guarantee truth, justice, and reparations for the victims of the repression and their relatives.

We the organizations that have signed the present statement ask the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to keep in mind the context described above when she delivers her next oral update in March 2020.  We additionally urge the United Nations Human Rights Council and diplomatic missions at the United Nations to renew the ‘Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in Nicaragua’ resolution so that the OHCHR can continue monitoring and documenting the grave human rights situation in Nicaragua.

Signatories:

  • Instituto Internacional sobre Raza, Igualdad y Derechos Humanos (Raza e Igualdad)
  • Servicio Internacional para los Derechos Humanos (ISHR)
  • CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
  • Iniciativa Mesoamericana de Mujeres Defensoras de Derechos Humanos (IM-Defensoras)
  • Fondo de Acción Urgente para América Latina y el Caribe (FAU-AL)
  • Centro por la Justicia y el Derecho Internacional (CEJIL)
  • Concertación Interamericana de Mujeres en Acción
  • Arrupe Human Rights Observatory (USF)
  • Centro Nicaragüense de Derechos Humanos (CENIDH)
  • Comisión Permanente de Derechos Humanos (CPDH)
  • Centro de Información y Servicios de Asesoría en Salud (CISAS – Costa Rica)
  • Iniciativa Nicaragüenses de Defensoras (IN-Defensoras)
  • Comité de América Latina y El Caribe para la Defensa de los Derechos de las Mujeres (CLADEM)
  • Asociación Madres de Abril (AMA)
  • Colectivo de Derechos Humanos Nicaragua Nunca +
  • Fundación Puntos de Encuentro
  • Instituto de Estudios Estratégicos y Políticas Públicas (IEEPP)
  • Academia Nicaragüense de las Ciencias Jurídicas y Políticas
  • Academia de Ciencias de Nicaragua (ACN)
  • Centro de Investigación de la Comunicación (CINCO)
  • Fundación Violeta Barrios de Chamorro (FVBCH)
  • Instituto de Liderazgo de Las Segovias (ILLS)
  • Asociación Hagamos Democracia (Hademos)
  • Instituto para el Desarrollo y la Democracia (IPADE)
  • Centro por la Justicia y Derechos Humanos de la Costa Atlántica de Nicaragua (CEJUDHCAN)
  • Centro de Asistencia Legal a Pueblos Indígenas (CALPI)
  • Centro de Investigación y Acción Educativa Social (CIASES)
  • Unidad de Defensa Jurídica (UDJ)
  • Movimiento por Nicaragua (MpN)
  • Movimiento Autónomo de Mujeres (MAM)
  • Red de Mujeres Contra la Violencia (RMCV)
  • Red de Mujeres de Matagalpa
  • Colectivo de Mujeres de Matagalpa
  • Asociación Colectivo de Mujeres 8 de Marzo
  • Movimiento de jóvenes feministas Las Malcriadas
  • Grupo Lésbico Feminista Artemisa
  • Mesa Nacional LGBTIQ Nicaragua
  • Fundación POPOL NA
  • Fundación del Río
  • Radio Darío
  • 100% Noticias
  • Radio La Costeñísima
  • Confidencial
  • Periodistas y Comunicadores Independientes de Nicaragua (PCIN)
  • Movimiento Nicaragüense de Profesionales del Turismo
  • Centro de Estudios y Capacitación Familiar (CEFA)
  • Centro de la Mujer ACCIÓN YA
  • Acción en Red
  • Asociación Agentes de Cambio
  • Cotidiano Mujer
  • Centro de la Mujer Peruana “Flora Tristán”
  • DEMUS – Estudio para la Defensa de los Derechos de la Mujer, Perú
  • Colectivo por la Igualdad de Género Piura
  • Feministas por la Democracia
  • Grupo Impulsor Mujeres y Cambio Climático (GIMCC)
  • Activismo Digital Nicaragüense (ADNIC)
  • Acción Universitaria
  • Unidos por Nicaragua
  • Movimiento Costeño Autoconvocado
  • Movimiento Universitario Costeño 19 de Abril
  • Comité Cívico Universitario
  • Movimiento 19 de Abril de Rivas
  • Morada Feminista Nicaragua UK
  • Unidad por los Exiliados Nicaragüenses en Panamá
  • Feministas Autoconvocadas de Barcelona
  • SOS Nicaragua Madrid
  • Feministas Madrid por Nicaragua
  • GENERA
  • Movimientos Sociales de Nueva Segovia
  • Movimiento 19 de abril Matagalpa
  • SOS Nicaragua France

Human Rights Day: We Remain Committed to the Defense of Human Rights in Latin America

Washington, D.C. December 10, 2019. The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights today joins the celebration of International Human Rights Day, which commemorates the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations General Assembly. Seventy-one years after the approval of the document that marked a milestone in the recognition of the inherent rights of all human beings, establishing that they should be respected without distinction as to race, color, religion, sex, language, political opinions, origin, or any other condition, the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality)continues to advocate for the compliance with and defense of said Declaration.

On this day, we remember that the human rights situation in Latin America is critical, and therefore, urgent action by the States is needed to effectively monitor and guarantee the rights of its citizens, especially those populations that have historically been marginalized.


In Cuba, we are concerned about the situation of political prisoners and the harassment and repression against independent activists and journalists. The case of political prisoner José Daniel Ferrer García, General Coordinator and founder of the Unión Patriótica de Cuba – UNPACU (Patriotic Union of Cuba), is alarming, seeing as three months have passed since his arrest, he is yet to be granted a trial, and he is ill-treated in the cells of the prison in which he is detained. His situation is especially worrisome because he could have the same fate as several other independent activists who have been convicted of common crimes upon expressing their opinions. For example, the Dama de Blanco (Lady in White) Martha Sánchez is currently in prison under a sentence of four and a half years. Similarly, the situation of independent activists and journalists suffering from travel restrictions without any legal justification is alarming.  This violates every Cuban citizen’s right to freedom of circulation. Regarding this situation, we support the proposal for a peaceful and symbolic demonstration in favor of the right to free circulation that will be held this Tuesday at the José Martí International Airport terminal. We recall that any demonstration or peaceful expression of an individual constitutes an inalienable right under international law.


In Nicaragua, the serious political and human rights crisis that the country has been facing for almost 20 months does not seem to improve. Authorities refuse to respect dissenting voices and continue to violate the human rights of Nicaraguans, including the right to protest, to free mobilization, and to freedom of expression and of the press. To date, about 150 prisoners and political prisoners have been counted, who all go through corrupt trials that lack constitutional guarantees. Nor have international organizations such as the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) or the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) been allowed to return to the country, while local organizations face persecution and the permanent siege by police and government-related groups.

In Colombia, the violence that is experienced after the signing of the Peace Agreement prevents us from thinking about true progress over the inequalities, marginalization, and terror that still exist in the Colombian territories. Today, the systematic assassination of social leaders is one phenomenon that lacerates the integrity of human rights defenders. According to official figures, approximately 343 homicides of social leaders were reported between January 2016 and August 2018; however, civil society organizations report more than 400, of which around 40% were against Afro-descendant and indigenous leaders. To this is added the “statistical genocide” that represents the latest results of the population survey: official figures reported 2.9 million people who recognized themselves as Afro-descendants in the 2018 Census, at least one million less than reported in 2005. This month, after two weeks of national strikes and social mobilizations of the Colombian people that call for immediate and urgent responses to serious violations of fundamental rights from the State, the breach in the effective implementation of the Peace Agreement, and the commitments accepted in matters of truth, justice, reparation, and guarantees of non-repetition, representatives of civil society organizations continue to support the construction of peace through a peaceful route that makes it possible to come together in the midst of differences.

Part of the Race and Equality team along with human rights defenders from Latin America.


During 2019, the persistent violence and discrimination against the Afro-LGBTI population was a problem that was studied more closely by the International Human Rights Protection Systems. This year a hearing was held before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on the situation of the Afro-LGBTI population in the Americas, with the presence of representatives from Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Peru. Additionally, the UN Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI), Victor Madrigal, met in Colombia with Afro-LGBTI organizations in Cartagena, and Commissioner Margarette Macaulay visited Afro-LGBTI activists from the Favela de Maré in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.  

All these activities are framed in a year in which violence against Afro-LGBTI people has persisted. Brazil remains the country with the highest number of murders of trans people in the world. According to current data from the Associação Nacional de Travestis e Transexuais – ANTRA (National Association of Trans People) in Brazil at least 106 transgender people were killed in Brazil until November of 2019.  Many of these victims are Afro-descendant trans women. In other countries such as Colombia and the Dominican Republic, violence against the Afro-LGBTI population still persists, with the reoccurrence of many homicide cases. Other expressions of violence, as in the case of Nicaragua, are strongly associated with a repressive political and religious context that impacts the lives of LGBTI activists, even reaching measures such as exile, to avoid arbitrary detentions and torture.


In Mexico, Panama, and Peru, the incorporation of racial and ethnic self-identification questions in population and housing censuses remains a great challenge in the collection of real and permanent statistical data that reflects the characteristics of the Afro-descendant and indigenous populations of those States. Civil society organizations have repeatedly denounced the lack of statistical information on ethnic peoples, stating that it is due, among other things, to a lack of dialogue and participatory work, seeking to develop questions of racial self-identification in conjunction with ethnic communities. On the contrary, the censuses contain questions that lack context, which means that they are difficult to understand, and this results in erroneous, incomplete, or not addressed statistical data in them. For this reason, the creation of government plans, programs, or policies for the benefit of overcoming this population’s reality of inequality and social injustice are complex to implement and materialize.

After five years of the founding of the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights, we remain committed to the defense of human rights in the region, especially in the countries where we work: Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, and Peru. We continue to work to promote and protect the human rights of marginalized populations, especially those due to national or ethnic origin and sexual orientation or gender identity, in addition to those who think and show distinct opinions. This December 10, we reaffirm our desire to contribute to the construction of an equitable society for all based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Thirteen Nicaraguan activists face judicial proceedings aimed at criminalizing an act of solidarity

Washington D.C. November 19, 2019. Four days after being arbitrarily detained in the city of Masaya, a group of thirteen human rights defenders and activists were charged by the Nicaraguan Public Prosecutor’s Office with illicit arms trafficking, and were taken to a court hearing before the deputy judge Cruz Adalberto Zeledón in the capital city of Managua on Monday.

The activists were arrested last Thursday night (November 14th) as they were traveling in a 4-vehicle caravan to the San Miguel Arcángel Church, with the goal of providing water and medicine to a group of political prisoners’ mothers who are on a hunger strike demanding the immediate release of their children.

The detainees are part of the Blue and White National Union (UNAB, for its initials in Spanish), a grouping of social movements, civil society organizations, activists, human rights defenders, students, and organized citizens that demands the Ortega-Murillo government leave power through democratic means.

The names of the 13 prisoners are: Ivannia Álvarez Martínez, Amaya Coppens Zamora, Neyma Hernández Ruiz, Jesús Tefel Amador, José Medina Cabrera, Atahualpa Quintero Morán, Wendy Avilés Juárez, Olga Valle López, Roberto Buchting Miranda, Hansel Quintero Gómez, María Hurtado Chamorro, Melvin Peralta Centeno and Derlis Hernández Flores.

Three other persons, who according to their relatives were arrested on different dates, were also prosecuted in the same case: Jordan Lanzas Herrera, Marvin López Ñamendiz and Wilfredo Brenes Domínguez.

Detention

One of the activists recorded the arrest, conducted by several cars full of police, in a Facebook Live video: first, the police officers blocked their path, then approached them to request their identification and the vehicle’s documentation. Without being told why, the activists were then told to proceed to the police station in Masaya.

However, the accusation presented by the Nicaraguan Public Prosecutor’s Office gives another version of the story. It says that during the police stop, “the aforementioned reacted violently, disturbing the order and peace in the area, thus obstructing the police work.” On Monday, the second-in-command of the Directorate of Judicial Assistance, Victoriano Ruiz, said that police found twelve Molotov bombs, three revolvers, four smaller firearms, and a shotgun in the vehicles, which the group of activists allegedly intended to use in attacks on Masaya, Managua, and Chinandega.

“This is one more act of the great circus that this regime is running in Nicaragua. They could not find anything else to invent. Imagine the fear they have about a group of young people carrying water to a church, a humanitarian act, that they have to accuse them with tremendous nonsense,” said Mario Hurtado, brother of María Hurtado, to the media outlet Confidencial.

The detainees were not arrested in flagrante nor did the authorities have an arrest warrant for them. The 48-hour deadline for presenting detainees before the judge was ignored, and the activists were not allowed to communicate with their lawyers before being taken to the hearing. Furthermore, their families were not notified of the detention, and neither they nor their families were told the crimes for which they were arrested.

Inhuman Treatments

On the contrary, the detainees told their defense lawyers -whom they met during the court hearing- that they had been beaten in the police station and that three members of the group had been taken to punishment cells, which lack sunlight and ventilation.

On Tuesday, Maynor Curtis, the defense lawyer for the 25-year-old Belgian-Nicaraguan Amaya Coppens, reported that Amaya was detained in a punishment cell. According to Curtis, the officers did not give Coppens the asthma and blood pressure medication that her parents had brought her. As a consequence, she had health problems on the night of Friday, November 15, and should have been taken urgently to the medical post within the jail.

It is expected that the judicial process, admitted by Judge Zeledón of the fifth district criminal court, will resume on November 28th.

Statement

Race and Equality condemns these actions that criminalize acts of solidarity and violate the right to defend the human rights of freedom of mobilization and peaceful demonstration. In different international forums, we have exposed the deep deterioration of judicial independence in Nicaragua and how the Nicaraguan judiciary was brought into the government’s scheme to violate human rights. We regret that prosecution for unfounded crimes persists as a repressive mechanism, having been used against more than 400 people during the past year by the Nicaraguan State, violating detainees’ rights to due process and minimum guarantees.

We demand that the State of Nicaragua immediately release the more than 150 political prisoners it holds, definitively dismiss the investigations and judicial cases against them, expunge their criminal records, and return their property confiscated at the time of the detention. The state must guarantee reparation for human rights violations and for the social, moral, and material damages these prisoners have suffered, as well as those suffered by all those who were arbitrarily detained and prosecuted after the events of April 2018.

Statement: Organizations demand that the personal integrity of hunger strikers and detainees in Nicaragua is guaranteed

Friday, November 15, 2019 – 13 activists and human rights defenders were arbitrarily detained on the night of November 14, when they were providing humanitarian assistance to a group of  political prisoners’ mothers, who are gathered in the San Miguel Arcángel Church in Masaya, Nicaragua.

The arrest was carried out by police and paramilitaries outside the church.  The mothers are gathered in the Church and are surrounded by police and paramilitaries, which are preventing anyone from entering or leaving and have besieged the Church, cutting off the electricity and water service.

The people arrested are Amaya Coppens, Ivania Alvárez, Wendy Juarez, Olga Valle, Olama Hurtado, José Medina, Hanzel Quintero, Atahualpa Quintero, Neyma Hernández Jesús Tefel, Roberto Büstching, Derlis Hernández and Melvin Peralta, who were transferred to the prison facilities of the Direction of Judicial Assistance “El Chipote” in the early hours of Friday.

The detention at El Chipote is of great concern due to it being notorious for alleged acts of torture, cruel and degrading treatment, as well as sexual violence against detainees, a risk that may be heightened due to the fact that some of them are known members of the opposition, human rights defenders and former political prisoners.

The situation of the women who remain on hunger strike is equally alarming, since they are deprived of drinking water. They have not eaten food for almost 24 hours and are without access to water or medications, putting their health at serious risk.

These events are occurring in a context marked by an increase in hate speech, attacks and harassment against freed political prisoners, human rights defenders and media critical of the government.

The undersigned national and international organizations:

1. Demand that the Nicaraguan Government  immediate release the 13 human rights defenders and activists arbitrarily detained;

2. Put an end to the siege and the harassment against the political prisoners’ mothers, and restore the electricity and water services to the San Miguel Church Archangel.

3. We hold the Nicaraguan Government responsible for any impact on the health and wellbeing of the persons deprived of liberty and the women who are undergoing the hunger strike.

4. We reiterate our call to the international community to remain alert and act in the face of the aggravation of the socio-political and human rights crisis that Nicaragua is experiencing since April 2018, and in view of the intensification of the persecution and repression faced by activists, organizations, human rights defenders and political prisoners.

Signatories:

Iniciativa Mesoamericana de Mujeres Defensoras de Derechos Humanos (IM- Defensoras) – Centro por la Justicia y el Derecho Internacional (CEJIL) – Plataforma Internacional Contra la Impunidad – Fondo de Acción Urgente para América Latina y el Caribe (FAU-AL) – Instituto Internacional sobre Raza, Igualdad y Derechos Humanos (Raza e Igualdad) – JASS (Asociadas por lo Justo) – Unión de Presas y Presos Políticos Nicaragüenses – Iniciativa Nicaragüense de Defensoras – Centro Nicaragüense de Derechos Humanos (CENIDH) – Comité de América Latina y el Caribe para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos de las Mujeres (CLADEM) Nicaragua – Oxfam Nicaragua – Colectivo de Derechos Humanos Nicaragua Nunca más – Ipas Centroamérica – Centro por la Justicia y Derechos Humanos de la Costa Atlántica de Nicaragua (CEJUDHCAN) – Convergencia por los Derechos Humanos (CAFCA, CALDH, CIISH, ECAP, ICCPG, ODHAG, SEDEM, UDEFEGUA, UNAMG), Guatemala – Asociación Red de Jóvenes para la Incidencia Política INCIDEJOVEN – Defensores Sin Fronteras – Fundación Puntos de Encuentro Nicaragua – Asociación de Jueces por la Democracia Honduras – Centro Universitario por la Dignidad y la Justicia Francisco Suárez, S.J.- Asistencia Legal por los Derchos Humanos A.C. (ASILEGAL- MÉXICO) – APRODEH-Perú – La Sombrilla Centroamericana – Front Line Defenders – Centro para la Acción No violenta y Cultura de Paz en Centroamérica – ProDESC – Articulación de Movimientos Sociales y Sociedad Civil (AMS) – Asociación de Jóvenes Feministas Ameyalli – Red de Mujeres de Matagalpa – Feministas Madrid por Nicaragua – Feminista por Nicaragua Euskal Herria – Colectivo Feminista Ecuador – Agrupación Ciudadana por la Despenalizacion del aborto – Popol Na Nicaragua – Agrupación de Mujeres Trans y Culturales AMTC – Centro de Investigación y Acción de la Mujer CIAM – Centro de mujeres ACCIÓN YA – Colectivo de Mujeres de Matagalpa – Campaña 28 de Setiembre por la Despenalización del Aborto – Punto Focal Nicaragua – Red de Salud de las Mujeres Latinoamericanas y del Caribe. Enlace Nacional Nicaragua – Mujeres en Acción,Costa Rica – Colectiva Feminista para el Desarrollo Local – Agrupación Ciudadana por la despenalizacion del aborto – Red Salvadoreña De Defensoras De Derechos Humanos – Centro de Información y Servicios de Asesoría en Salud (CISAS) – Concertación Interamericana de Derechos Humanos de las Mujeres – Colectiva Lupa Feminista – Movimiento Autónomo de Mujeres – Articulación Feminista de Nicaragua – Fundación Acceder Costa Rica – Abuenica – Cooperacció – Handmaids Costa Rica – Ni una menos Costa Rica – Instituto de Liderazgo de las segovias – Coalición Cívica 19 de Abril Matagalpa – Asociación Agentes de Cambio Nicaragua – Nicaragua Protesta – Activismo Digital Nicaragüense (ADNIC) – Movimiento 19 de Abril Jinotega – Alianza Civica de Jinotega -Grupo Anonymous de Nicaragua – Comité Cívico Universitario UCA – REACNIC – Fundenic – Movimiento Estudiantil de Apoyo a la Democracia – Alianza Universitaria Nicaragüense AUN – Alianza Azul y Blanco Chichigalpa – Movimiento Nacional Ambientalista Frente a la Mineria Industrial -Movimiento Sociales de las Segovias – Accion Universitaria – CODENI – Asociación NicaLibre – Sos Nicaragua Madrid – NicaSeattle – Unidad por los Exiliados Nicaragüenses en Panama – SosNicaragua Barcelona – SOSNicaragua- Holanda – Collectif de Solidarité avec le Peuple du Nicaragua -Nicaragua Karavaan – SosBelgique-Nicaragua – SosNicaragua-Europa – SoyNicaragua en Zaragoza – Sos Nicaragua España – SosNicaragua Galicia A Coruña – SOSNicaragua-Sverige – SOS France Nicaragua – Texas Nicaraguan community – SOSNicaragua Finlandia – Guanared Costa Rica y más.

Civil society organizations expose the lack of independence of the Nicaraguan judicial system to IACHR Commissioners

Quito, Ecuador, November 11, 2019. During the 174th period of sessions of the IACHR, nine civil society organizations exposed the deep deterioration of judicial independence in Nicaragua, where the courts have failed to guarantee the rights of Nicaraguans to access to justice, due process and judicial guarantees in the context of the democratic crisis that began on April 18, 2018.

During the hearing “Challenges for judicial autonomy and independence in Nicaragua”, the organizations highlighted how the Nicaraguan judiciary was brought into the government’s scheme to violate human rights, facilitating the criminalization of protest and the work of human rights defenders and generating conditions that guarantee impunity for human rights violations perpetrated by regime officials.

“In Nicaragua, there is no independence or autonomy of powers. The co-optation of the judiciary by the Ortega-Murillo regime has led to its acting under party control, built through tarnished selection processes and appointments, with the absence of publicity, transparency and citizen participation; privileging political affinity over appointment according to merits and professional capacities that guarantee a judiciary that is objective, independent and subject to the rule of law,” said Georgina Ruiz, of the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH, for its initials in Spanish).

The culpability of the National Police, the National Prosecuting Authority and the Institute of Forensic Medicine for not complying with their obligations, allowing the commission of human rights violations and facilitating impunity for violations committed by the State or paramilitary groups was also denounced.

An absent state

As usual during recent IACHR hearings, the Nicaraguan state did not attend the appointment. For the organizations, this exemplifies how the Ortega regime continues to deny its responsibility in the serious human rights crisis that the country is facing, as well as its obligation to guarantee the autonomy and independence of the justice institutions.

“Once again, we regret the absence of the State of Nicaragua, which did not send any information to justify it, as has happened before,” said Commissioner Antonia Urrejola at the beginning of her speech. Urrejola especially greeted the mothers of murdered youth and the victims who attended the hearing, recognizing the hard work they do in pursuit of justice and non-repetition.

By the end of the hearing, the organizations requested that IACHR urge the State of Nicaragua to:

  • Cease repression and criminalization; and guarantee the full exercise of human rights, including access to justice for victims of murder, torture and rape.
  • Restore the full constitutional guarantees for the exercise of citizens’ rights.
  • Return seized or stolen property to all victims of repression.
  • Resolve the amparo appeals  presented by the organizations that were repressed during the crisis (an amparo procedure is a request for a legal ruling that protects basic rights)
  • Guarantee the autonomy and independence of the judicial institutions their adherence to the procedures established in the Constitution of the Republic of Nicaragua and international human rights treaties, as well as the ratification of specific international instruments, including those related to the administration of justice.

The hearing was convened by CENIDH, the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), the Nicaragua Never+ Human Rights Collective, the Mesoamerican Initiative for Women Human Rights Defenders (IM-Defenders), the Nicaraguan Initiative for Human Rights Defenders (IND), the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality), JASS Mesoamerica, the Autonomous Movement of Women-Nicaragua (MAM- Nicaragua) and the Legal Defense Unit of Nicaragua.

We demand freedom for 139 political prisoners in Nicaragua

Washington D.C. November 4, 2019. More than 600 people were released from prison between February and June of this year by the Nicaraguan Government, after being arrested and convicted of crimes for having participated in the protests begun in April 2018. Authorities applied a controversial Amnesty Law to those who were released in June, guaranteeing impunity for those responsible for serious human rights violations. The law did not apply to all political prisoners equally, and around 26 people were left in prison. Taking into account that arrests continued beginning in July of this year, the number of political prisoners has risen to 139 as of September, according to the latest count of the Civic Alliance for Justice and Democracy.

Among these 139 political prisoners there is only one woman, the young university student María Guadalupe Ruiz who is 22 years old. The others are university students, farmers, professionals, workers in the informal sector, and even retired people.

“People (in prison) include those who participated in social protests and expressed their repudiation of the government,” says Julia Baltodano, a lawyer from the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH, for its initials in Spanish), an organization currently documenting the human rights violations suffered by these prisoners. In general, these people did not have media exposure before their arrest.

The method of criminalizing political prisoners has been transformed: they are no longer accused of having attempted to destabilize the country or of trying to overthrow the government through violent methods, but instead are accused of common crimes.

“Now, they try to disguise the cases and accuse them of common crimes: aggravated robbery, threats, illegal carrying of weapons, drug trafficking, and they no longer accuse people of ten or fifteen crimes (as they did before), but of one or two. The idea of ​​the regime is to say: there are no political prisoners, there are only common criminals here,” explains Alexandra Salazar, a lawyer with the Legal Defense Unit for Political Prisoners, a group that is currently defending more than 20 political prisoners and is managing the uncertain legal situation of released persons.

This new strategy has made it difficult to identify political prisoners, but defenders are aware of these cases through media monitoring, family reports to human rights organizations, or social media publications. CENIDH, for example, verifies whether these persons participated in the anti-government demonstrations and if there were threats of detention or prior harassment, and then analyze whether the evidence presented by the Prosecutor’s Office against them is consistent. The Legal Unit of Political Prisoners also has networks in other departments that corroborate the information with family members and other organizations that work for the release of political prisoners.

Another new strategy adopted by the authorities is to abandon the previous pattern in which the great majority of political prisoners were transferred to detention centers in Managua, the capital city of Nicaragua. Now, most of the political prisoners are in departmental detention centers, with the intention of generating less attention from public opinion and reducing the effect of the demands for freedom made by prisoners’ families and organizations that accompany them.

“Now the majority remain in their home jurisdictions, as part of the change in pattern, to make all of this less visible. If they are transferred from their department (city) to the Directorate of Judicial Assistance (in Managua), that shows an obvious interest in that person,” explains Salazar, whose group defends people from Managua, but also from León, Estelí, Masaya, and Granada.

Some irregularities in the judicial process that were identified by the CENIDH include: illegal detentions, presentation before the judge after 48 hours in violation of the provisions of the Nicaraguan Constitution, delay of justice, private instead of public hearings, breach of release orders, and denial of detainees’ contact with their lawyers or family members.

Although the State continues to refuse to recognize that there are political prisoners under its custody, both experts consulted by the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights insist that it is essential to continue denouncing the existence of political prisoners in Nicaragua on national and international platforms.

Race and Equality joins the repeated calls to the State of Nicaragua to immediately release the 139 political prisoners and to proceed to definitively dismiss the investigations and judicial cases against them, as well as for the expungement of their criminal records. The State must guarantee due reparation for human rights violations and the social, moral and material damages they have suffered, as well as those suffered by all of the people who were arbitrarily detained and prosecuted irregularly after the events of April 2018.

Nicaraguan journalists denounce continuous violations of freedom of expression and press during the IACHR’s 173rd period of sessions

Washington D.C., September 25. Three Nicaraguan media directors, speaking today to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), denounced the Nicaraguan state, saying it has not complied with the precautionary measures given by the commision to protect them, their families, and their staff, but has instead escalated persecution, threats, and reprisals against their journalistic work.

Sergio León, director of La Costeñísima in Bluefields; Aníbal Toruño, director of Radio Darío in León and Carlos Fernando Chamorro, director of the digital outlet Confidencial and the television news program Esta Semana, exposed their situation during the hearing “Implementation of Protective Precautionary Measures in Favor of Independent Journalists in Nicaragua,” held within the framework of the 173rd period of sessions of the IACHR.

Ana Bolaños, on behalf of the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality), also participated in the hearing. She lamented that the State of Nicaragua did not attend the hearing, which demonstrates a lack of willingness to be accountable before international bodies. On the same subject, Commissioner Joel Hernández, Vice President of the IACHR, considered that this absence represented a missed opportunity and a breach of the State of Nicaragua’s obligations before the IACHR.

The speakers agreed that censorship, attacks and repression against independent journalism  persist to this day in Nicaragua: media outlets Confidencial and 100% Noticias remain closed, newspapers face a state-imposed blockade of paper, and according to the Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Foundation (FVBCH), a total of 1,318 cases of attacks against independent journalists have been reported through August.

Situation of La Costeñísima

Sergio León explained that La Costeñísima radio’s coverage includes the Southern Caribbean region of Nicaragua, and that directing an independent outlet has resulted in constant intimidation, threats and harassment. For this reason, Leon and his family received precautionary measures on June 15th, 2019.

“The precautionary measures are aimed at protecting me and my family’s life and safety; however, they (the authorities) have not complied with them, since the police and armed civilians acting as parastatals continue to besiege and threaten me, seeking to silence my voice and the voices of those who we echo on La Costeñísima radio,” said León. To date, the State of Nicaragua has not carried out any action to protect León or investigated the threats he has received.

In addition, León denounced that the party structures of the FSLN prohibit the population from listening to the station; that the political operators of the regime convinced the second journalist on Leon’s team to resign, which took the station’s main news program “After the News” off the air for a few days; that the station has recorded computer attacks against their website and that Sandinista Youth groups have marked the walls of the station’s office and of the alley leading to his home with threats.

Situation of Radio Darío

Aníbal Toruño, director of Radio Darío, explained that on April 20, 2018, a group of armed parastatal agents set fire to the radio station he owns, yet fortunately, 11 people who were inside the station were able to escape. Given these facts and other acts of harassment, Toruño, his family and 9 other employees received precautionary measures in July 2018.

However, Toruño has not received protection from the State; rather, he had to go into exile at the end of August 2018 and only managed to return in August of this year. “On my return to Nicaragua, I found a regime that continues to persecute independent media and journalists,” he denounced. Later, he narrated how on September 7th of this year, the station suffered new attacks, how a government-aligned group surrounded his house and painted threats on the walls and the armed attack on a caravan of which he was part.

“Radio Darío is still on the air and fighting for freedom of expression, but there is clear evidence (to prove that) the regime tries to silence the station. The exposure by the station’s workers of the state’s failure to comply with the measures and their accompanying duties is imperative,” added Toruño.

Situation of Confidencial and Esta Semana

Carlos Fernando Chamorro, director of Confidencial y Esta Semana, stated that on December 13, 2018, the National Police stormed and ransacked the facilities of both outlets, and then on December 14 permanently occupied the property. Given these facts, at the end of December 2018 the IACHR granted precautionary measures to Chamorro, his family and thirteen members of his team.

Chamorro also had to go into exile in January of this year. Subsequently, eight other members of his team left the country. To date, the offices are still occupied by the Police and, despite several legal remedies and complaints, the Nicaraguan judicial system has not acted on the case and the statutes of limitation have expired.

“Despite television censorship and official intimidation, and the restrictions on freedom of expression represented by all the abuses narrated here, Confidencial, Niú, Esta Semana and Esta Noche keep on informing, challenging the persecution, from Nicaragua and from exile, through digital platforms and social networks,” said Chamorro.

Petitions

The Nicaraguan media directors asked the IACHR to request provisional measures from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights for those who have already received precautionary measures that the State has not complied with, and also to extend precautionary measures to benefit other journalists from Confidencial and Esta Semana facing serious risks.

In addition, they asked the IACHR to demand that the State of Nicaragua cease its censorship, harassment, intimidation and physical attacks against journalists and their families, as well as the immediate return of illegally confiscated property. They urged the Nicaraguan state to guarantee the physical integrity and rights of journalists returning from exile, so that they can exercise their profession in freedom.

The IACHR Commissioners Antonia Urrejola, Rapporteur for Nicaragua; Margarette May Macaulay, Rapporteur on the Rights of People of African Descent and Joel Hernández, Vice President of the IACHR, reiterated their commitment to continue monitoring the situation, and pledged to study the requests made by the petitioners. Edison Lanza, Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, said that in Nicaragua there is a systematic government plan to close all spaces of independent journalism and congratulated journalists for continuing to do journalism in such a hostile environment.

Join Our Efforts

Help empower individuals and communities to achieve structural changes in Latin America.

Donate Contact Us