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

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.

UPR: Nicaraguan State rejects 100 recommendations aimed at resolving the current human rights crisis

Geneva, September 20, 2019. United Nations member states participating in the 42nd session of the Human Rights Council adopted the Report of the Working Group with the results of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) for Nicaragua. This Report brings together a total of 259 recommendations to the State of Nicaragua made by other member States in order to help improve the human rights situation in the country, which has faced a serious human rights crisis since April 2018.

We regret that the State of Nicaragua has rejected 124 recommendations, 100 of which  are related to the current crisis and propose the return of human rights mechanisms, freedom for all political prisoners, the full restitution of civil and political rights, the cessation of repression and security guarantees for Nicaraguan exiles to return to the country.

Nicaragua justified this rejection by claiming that the recommendations “do not apply due to lack of substance and distortion of reality.” The Nicaraguan ambassador to the Human Rights Council, Carlos Ernesto Morales, denied the systematic violations of human rights committed by State forces and para-state armed groups, which have been widely documented by national and international human rights organizations such as OHCHR and IACHR. Additionally, he said that “some states issued political speeches, far removed from constructive recommendations, trying to politicize” the UPR.

The Nicaraguan State only accepted 135 recommendations, most of which are related to the rights of children and adolescents, gender violence, inclusive public policies, climate change, combating poverty and inequality, access to education and improving land titling for indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples.

Nicaragua’s lack of commitment

During the session of the Human Rights Council held today in Geneva, a series of diplomatic delegations and civil society organizations expressed their concern over the recommendations rejected by the  State of Nicaragua and the State’s denial of reality, which in turn shows its lack of commitment to restoring the fundamental human rights of its citizens.

“Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Peru remember that the report of the High Commissioner on the situation of human rights in Nicaragua corroborates the lack of accountability; the denial of the victims’ right to the truth, justice and reparation; the reduction of civic space; the violation of the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly; the attack on human rights defenders, journalists and people who are critical of the government; arbitrary detentions and torture. The countries mentioned above urge the Nicaraguan Government to comply with human rights commitments and to consider the implementation of all the recommendations presented (in the UPR),” said the representative of Peru on behalf of a group of South American countries.

Delegations from Egypt, Haiti, India, Iran, Iraq, the Philippines, Russia, Serbia, South Africa and the United Kingdom also participated in the plenary discussion.

The International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH) and its partner organization in Nicaragua, the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH), noted: “We are concerned that (the State of Nicaragua) continues to deny lethal violence in the city and the countryside, hiding the serious human rights crisis in the country, trying to give an image of normality that does not correspond to the repression that the population continues to face today. Serious crimes are still in impunity, public demonstrations continue to be repressed and parapolice forces harass, threaten and attack any dissenting voice. We are deeply concerned that the State rejects the numerous recommendations on access for human rights organizations to the country (…) We insist that the State restore the legal status of which [9 civil society organizations] were arbitrarily deprived and the return of their assets as well as ensuring a safe environment for them to carry out their work without reprisals or threats.”

Other civil society organizations that participated in the session were UNICEF, UNFPA, Indigenous Missionary Council, CIVICUS and the International Network for Human Rights (RIDH).

Race and Equality joins the calls to the State of Nicaragua to honor its international commitments in the field of human rights and immediately implement both the accepted recommendations, as well as those that it rejected based on the supposed lack of substance and distortion of reality. Likewise, we urge the State of Nicaragua to return to the dialogue table, ensuring a broad, credible, representative, inclusive and transparent dialogue to achieve a peaceful and democratic solution to the crisis, as recommended in the Universal Periodic Review.

Previous advocacy

The UPR is one of the main tools of the Human Rights Council that allows member states to examine each other on how they are fulfilling their international human rights commitments. These recommendations are essential for Nicaragua to overcome the current situation of serious human rights violations and comply with international obligations acquired through the ratification of international human rights instruments.

On May 15, the State of Nicaragua was evaluated by the UPR in Geneva, and in that session a total of 94 States made recommendations to Nicaragua to help improve the human rights situation in the country.

A month earlier, on April 3, representatives of Nicaraguan civil society participated in the pre-session of the UPR of the UPR, a space in which they presented the various human rights violations committed in the country to inform the delegations that would later evaluate Nicaragua.

This is the third time that Nicaragua has been subjected to the UPR’s scrutiny. In the previous review, which took place in 2014, the State accepted 164 recommendations, but human rights defenders denounced that an important part of those recommendations were not fully implemented.

Civil society from Cuba and Nicaragua will expose human rights violations at the 173rd period of sessions of the IACHR

During the 173rd Period of Sessions of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to be held from September 23 to October 2 in Washington, DC; the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) will participate in public hearings alongside multiple Cuban and Nicaraguan civil society organizations that will denounce the serious situation faced by activists, human rights defenders and independent journalists in their respective countries due to the repression, violence and harassment exercised by the regimes of Cuba and Nicaragua.

We invite you to join the public hearings through the IACHR website and our social media.

Diseno-sin-titulo

Monday, September 23, 2019

Hearing: “Serious human rights violations in Cuba”

Despite the adoption of a new Cuban Constitution, the fundamental rights of the Cuban people continue to be violated because of arbitrary and repressive practices that deter Cubans from truly and effectively accessing their rights. Throughout this public hearing, civil society organizations will expose the worrying situation of human rights violations on the island and the ways in which the Cuban state censors its citizens and curtails their freedoms. In addition, the organizations will present to the Inter-American Commission the multiple forms of violence that the Cuban state uses to suppress voices that dissent against the regime.

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Hearing: “Implementation of Protective Precautionary Measures in Favor of Independent Journalists in Nicaragua”

Given that the systematic violation of the right to freedom of expression and of the press has deepened in Nicaragua since the protests of April 18, 2018, this public hearing seeks to demand the immediate fulfillment of the precautionary measures granted by the IACHR to the media figures and independent journalists who are censored, harassed, arrested and repressed by the State of Nicaragua. To date, the state has not taken the necessary measures so that the beneficiaries can carry out their journalistic work without being subjected to acts of intimidation, threats or other acts of violence in the exercise of their work.

The National Press Club invites to the event: “Global Voices: Journalism Under Threat in Nicaragua”

On Wednesday, September 25 at 6:30 p.m., the NPC’s International Correspondents Committee (ICC) and Press Freedom Team invites you to join an event on media suppression in Nicaragua. Fresh from testifying at the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights (IACHR), a delegation of four Nicaraguan journalists – three of whom remain in exile – will discuss the country’s recent descent into violence and repression.

In April 2018, proposed changes to Nicaragua’s social security system sparked a series of street protests. Heavy-handed moves to repress the protests had the opposite effect, fanning the flames of dissent and leading to calls for President Daniel Ortega to step down. As journalists moved in to cover the growing opposition movement, many found themselves directly in the firing line – facing arrest by police and violence at the hands of pro-government militias.

The delegation of Nicaraguan journalists will talk about their experiences of reporting from the front lines, the tactics the Ortega government has used to brand the press as part of the opposition movement, the current state of the country and their hopes for the future. The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights is supporting each to attend the IACHR hearings and this special media event.

Panelists include:

Carlos Fernando Chamorro is founder and editor of Confidencial. Carlos is currently in exile in Costa Rica following a police raid on Confidencial in December 2018. Police confiscated documents, phones, computers, and TV cameras in a bid to disrupt the magazine’s reporting. Carlos Fernando fled the country in January this year amid threats against him.

Lucía Pineda Ubau is news director at 100% Noticias. Lucía was arrested in December last year, accused of “incitement and conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism and incitement of hate crimes.” She was released in June under the country’s controversial amnesty law and is now living in exile in Costa Rica.

Aníbal Toruño, who is currently in exile in Miami, is director and owner of Radio Darío. On April 20, 2018, pro-government mobs set fire to Radio Dario, badly damaging the station and forcing them to move to another location. Since then their offices have been raided several times by the Nicaraguan police.

Sergio León, owner and director of La Costeñisima, has remained in Nicaragua and has faced constant harassment, being detained by the Nicaraguan police on multiple occasions.

About the moderator:

Nicaraguan-born Maria Peña is a Digital Reporter for Telemundo, where she covers all issues affecting Hispanics, including immigration, trade, education, housing, voting, political empowerment, foreign policy, and, most recently, domestic terrorism at the border. She has worked in Washington journalism for more than 30 years but also travels abroad to cover major international stories such as Obama’s historic 2016 trip to Cuba. She is a frequent guest on major networks including Voice of America, Univision, CBC, CNN, and CGTN America. In 2017, she was named among El Tiempo Latino´s “100 Influential Latinos.” Maria is a member of the National Press Club.

 

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We condemn aggresion against transgender activist in Nicaragua and demand an exhaustive investigation

The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) and the Colombian organization Caribe Afirmativo (Affirmative Caribbean) condemn the attack against Ludwika Vega, a trans woman who serves as coordinator of the Asociación Nicaragüense de Transgeneras (ANIT – Transgender Association of Nicaragua), and demand that authorities carry out a thorough investigation of the incident.

According to information received by Race and Equality, two men riding a motorcycle arrived at ANIT’s office in Managua around 8:00pm on Tuesday, September 10th and found Ludwika alone there. The men struck her with a stone, knocking out teeth and drawing blood. They proceeded to attack her with a sharp object, causing her five injuries: one to her chest, three to her back and one to her side. The perpetrators also stole Ludwika’s laptop computer and handbag.

After the attack, Ludwika was taken to a hospital and is now in recovery from her injuries.

ANIT is an organization that works to promote and defend the rights of transgender women through educational programs on human rights and through advocacy work in various fora.

Ludwika has been a crucial ally to Caribe Afirmativo during the organization’s Enterezas II [“strength of character”] program, which investigates gender-based violence and hate crimes against lesbian and bisexual women. She has built networks with lesbian, bisexual and trans women throughout civil society in order to carry out trainings, workshops and community organizing to demand human rights in Nicaragua.

Race & Equality and Caribe Afirmativo insist upon a thorough investigation of this crime, including investigation into the possibility that the crime was motivated by Ludwika and ANIT’s work in favor of human rights for trans women.

Impunity for attacks against trans women leads to further violence; Nicaraguan authorities must inform the community of the investigation’s findings and sanction the perpetrators to prevent such a cycle.

Human rights crisis in Nicaragua has not been resolved, according to High Commissioner for Human Rights, IACHR and activists

Geneva, September 10, 2019. The serious socio-political and human rights crisis that Nicaragua has suffered since April 2018 was exposed in all its magnitude this week during the 42nd session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland. On Tuesday, High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet presented an updated report on the situation in the country and various diplomatic delegations expressed their support to the people of the Nicaragua. A delegation of activists, journalists, former political prisoners, defenders of Nicaraguan human rights and international human rights organizations also attended the session.

The Bachelet Report

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, communicated in her report that serious human rights violations have continued in Nicaragua, especially violations of the rights to peaceful assembly, to freedom of expression and association, to personal freedom, to not be subjected to torture or inhuman conditions of detention, to a fair trial and to obtain reparations.

“The institutional response to human rights violations has been insufficient,” Bachelet said in her speech, adding that the justice system in Nicaragua has not guaranteed accountability for these serious violations. Consequently, she stressed the importance of human rights organizations being able to return to the country to monitor the human rights situation.

The report gives eight recommendations to the State of Nicaragua, including: to “urgently” resume the dialogue between the government and the Civic Alliance for Justice and Democracy; to guarantee the freedoms of peaceful assembly, expression and association; to restore the legal status of the nine civil society organizations and the media that were sanctioned and outlawed; and to establish a broad plan of action oriented towards accountability.

IACHR and international delegations endorse the report

The Rapporteur for Nicaragua of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), Antonia Urrejola, said that the crisis in Nicaragua “keeps the country in a climate of serious institutional deterioration and complete closure of democratic spaces for the exercise of human rights.”

According to the Commissioner, “the de facto installation of a state of exception persists and this keeps public liberties suspended or seriously limited; arbitrary detentions also persist, as do the exile of journalists and social leaders, a lack of effective judicial protection for victims, impunity, reports of murders of people identified as government opponents, reports of cases that could be described as forced disappearances and the reports of sexual attacks and torture.”

Various diplomatic delegations also supported the OHCHR report, including: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, the European Union, France, Georgia, Germany, Iceland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, Switzerland, South Africa and Uruguay. Likewise, the organizations CIVICUS, Red Local, Human Rights Watch, FIDH, Amnesty International, CitizenGo and Hivos all welcomed the report and urged the State to accept its recommendations.

Nicaraguan state denies human rights violations

The Vice Chancellor of Nicaragua, Valdrack Jaentscke, denied the human rights violations committed by the State of Nicaragua from the beginning of the crisis in April 2018 to the present, despite the evidence presented by Bachelet and Urrejola.

Instead, he discredited the report and defended the government position that in Nicaragua there is full freedom of association, no journalist has been persecuted for exercising his or her work, no human defenders have been repressed, no arbitrary detentions have taken place and that there is no torture or cruel and inhuman treatment in prisons.

The State of Nicaragua was supported by the delegations of Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Russia, Syria and Venezuela, countries that requested the UN not to intervene in internal affairs.

Advocacy

One day before the presentation of the human rights report on Nicaragua, the event “Fighting impunity and strengthening accountability: violations of human rights in Nicaragua” was held in Geneva, organized by the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) with the purpose of bringing the Nicaragua’s reality closer to the Human Rights Council’s proceedings.

The panel was made up of Nicaraguan ex-political prisoners Lucia Pineda, Victoria Obando and Edwin Carcache, the UN Special Rapporteur on Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association, Clément Voulé and the first vice president of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty, Joel Hernández.

Lucía Pineda, News Director of 100% Noticias, explained how the Nicaraguan government continues to harass, threaten and repress independent communicators and journalists in her country, and how the offices of the 100% Noticias and the digital outlet Confidencial as well as the television programs Esta Noche and Esta Semana, directed by Carlos Fernando Chamorro, are still occupied by state forces.

Edwin Carcache, student leader and member of the Civic Alliance, said that at least 126 people who were arrested for their participation in citizen protests are still being held, and regretted that these political prisoners are experiencing the same conditions of torture and inhuman treatment that he suffered in the cells of the Jorge Navarro Penitentiary System, also known as “La Modelo.”

Victoria Obando, on the other hand, highlighted how the LGBTQ community has been an active part of citizen demonstrations and therefore has suffered the onslaught of repression through imprisonment or exile. “We have records of people from our community who are exiled in at least 13 countries, where their living conditions are severely affected in ways that intersect with the visibility of their sexual orientation or gender identity,” Obando explained.

Support of the Universal System and Inter-American System

The UN Special Rapporteur on Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association, Clément Voulé, agreed with Bachelet’s report and reiterated that the human rights of Nicaraguan citizens continue to be violated.

Voulé stated that the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and to freedom of association are fundamental and necessary to guarantee other rights. He therefore asked the State of Nicaragua to return legal status to NGOs that were outlawed, since they play a vital role in the protection and fulfillment of human rights and the democratic life of society.

“The Nicaraguan government should not see them as a threat, but as a means of dialogue in which they should participate,” he added, highlighting that the beginning of any transitional justice process involves allowing independent organizations to support the victims and document facts. In addition, he stressed the great interest of his office in visiting the country to establish a dialogue with the Nicaraguan government, although he has not received a response from the State.

Finally, IACHR vice-president Joel Hernández also stressed that the Commission is willing to deploy their missions again in Nicaragua, although they have not received a response to their repeated requests. “The democratic spaces have been closed and to date they have not been opened. Nicaragua does not have a will to solve this crisis,” Hernández said.

Statement of civil society organizations regarding the coming report about the situation in Nicaragua from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

August 26th, 2019. As UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet prepares to present her report on Nicaragua on September 10th, in compliance with the March 21st Human Rights Council resolution “Promotion and protection of human rights in Nicaragua” (A/HRC/40/L.8), civil society organizations and human rights defenders wish to express our concerns regarding ongoing repression, harassment, and threats against those defending democracy, justice, and human rights in Nicaragua.

For the last 16 months, Nicaragua has suffered a human rights crisis provoked by brutal repression from state forces and pro-government armed groups seeking to quell massive country-wide protests.

According to data from the Interamerican Commission of Human Rights (IACHR) at least 328 people died, including 29 children and adolescents, and more than 2,000 were injured as a result of this violence. Thousands more were arrested arbitrarily, and hundreds were criminalized for exercising their right to protest. The majority of these political prisoners were released under the recent Amnesty Law, which was approved unilaterally by National Assembly members from the ruling FSLN party. However, the Amnesty Law perpetuates impunity by ruling out investigation into suspected crimes committed against protestors.

Furthermore, the government continues to repress the population by imprisoning citizens and violating the due processes to which they are entitled under Nicaraguan law. As a result, some 120 political prisoners remain incarcerated as of July 28th according to the the registry maintained by the Civic Alliance for Justice and Democracy.

The second attempt at dialogue between the Civic Alliance (made up of various opposition groups) and the government, which began in February this year, had achieved some formal agreements, but none of these agreements were honored or implemented by the government. After months of impasse caused by this non-compliance, the government made a unilateral decision to terminate negotiations on July 30th.

The facts on the ground make clear that there is no will among the Nicaraguan authorities to guarantee truth, justice, and reparation for the victims of repression and their families; nor are there guarantees that the government will return to good-faith dialogues that respect the previous agreements.

Given these facts, we recommend that the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights should:

  1. Demand the immediate release of all prisoners arrested in relation to the protests beginning in April 2018 and of all those being charged for alleged common crimes in retaliation for their continued participation in civic demonstrations. Furthermore, to demand the full restoration of these released persons’ rights and liberties along with the closure of their cases, cancelation of their convictions, and reparation of their confiscated goods.
  2. Urge the State of Nicaragua to cease the repression and persecution of young people, human rights defenders, student leaders, women, journalists, LGBTQ persons, and ex-prisoners who continue to be harassed and threatened with detention or prosecution. Furthermore, to demand respect for the rights of children and adolescents to safety and protection.
  3. Demand that the State of Nicaragua disarm and dismantle pro-government armed groups that threaten and attack Nicaraguans.
  4. Make use of all mechanisms within the Universal System of Human Rights to give special and urgent attention to the human rights of Nicaraguans currently seeking refuge in Costa Rica and other countries.
  5. Demand that the State of Nicaragua respect the right to pursue human rights work, restore legal recognition to civil society organizations whose status was revoked (CENIDH, CISAS, CINCO, IEEPP, Hagamos Democracia, Popol Na, IPADE, ILLS, and Fundación del Río), and return these organizations’ confiscated property
  6. Insist upon the return of confiscated property and the restoration of suspended licenses to news outlets 100% Noticias, Confidencial, and Esta Noche and insist that these outlets be allowed to carry out their work without any obstacles or retaliation.
  7. Offer the OHCHR’s good offices for ensuring the return of human rights mechanisms (IACHR, OHCHR, GIEI) to Nicaragua. In this area, the work of the GIEI (Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts), including its proposal of creating a Special Prosecutor’s Office and an Integral Plan of Reparations for the victims, was very positive.
  8. Request that Nicaragua revoke the Amnesty Law, which is contrary to the American Convention on Human Rights; make meaningful reforms to the national judicial system; and ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
  9. Demand that the State of Nicaragua immediately implement protection for indigenous and Afro-descendant people who are being harassed and killed in different regions of the country and underline that the State must urgently protect these communities from violent attacks and land invasions.

We also request that States’ permanent missions to the United Nations:

  1. Call upon the Nicaraguan government to return to inclusive national dialogues that will end the ongoing repression and establish concrete terms for a democratic transition.
  2. Insist that as part of these dialogues, the State of Nicaragua take up a sincere electoral reform process that will result in legislation guaranteeing free and fair elections scheduled for November 2021.
  3. Firmly back the demands of the Nicaraguan people for truth, justice, reparation, and guarantees of non-repetition.
  4. Urge the State of Nicaragua to accept the recommendations resulting from the Universal Periodic Review process and to implement those recommendations classified as urgent, including the disarmament of paramilitary forces.

Finally, we call upon the United Nations Human Rights Council to:

  1. Renew the mandate of the resolution “Promotion and protection of human rights in Nicaragua,” so that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights can continue to monitor the human rights situation in the country.

Signed by:

NICARAGUAN ORGANIZATIONS

  • – Centro Nicaragüense de Derechos Humanos, CENIDH.
  • – Instituto para el Desarrollo y la Democracia, IPADE.
  • – Unión de Presos y Presas políticos de Nicaragua, UPPN.
  • – Centro por la Justicia y Derechos Humanos de la Costa Atlántica de Nicaragua, CEJUDHCAN.
  • – Fundación Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, FVBCH.
  • – Canal 100% Noticias
  • – Movimiento Autónomo de Mujeres, MAM.
  • – Articulación de Movimientos Sociales.
  • – Centro de Investigaciones de la Comunicación, CINCO.
  • – Centro de Información y Servicios de Asesoría en Salud, CISAS.
  • – Foro de Educación y Desarrollo Humano de la Iniciativa por Nicaragua.
  • – Iniciativa Nicaragüense de Defensoras, IN-Defensoras.
  • – Fundación Puntos de Encuentro.
  • – Red de Mujeres de Matagalpa.
  • – Red de Mujeres Contra la Violencia.
  • – Colectivo de Mujeres de Matagalpa.
  • – Feministas Madrid por Nicaragua.
  • – Asociación Colectivo de Mujeres 8 de Marzo.
  • – Movimiento de Jóvenes Feministas Las Malcriadas.
  • – Articulación Feminista de Nicaragua.
  • – Movimiento Feminista de Nicaragua.
  • – Programa Feminista La Corriente.
  • – Mujeral en Acción.
  • – Grupo Lésbico Feminista Artemisa.
  • – Fundación Coordinadora de ONG’s que trabajan por los derechos de la Niñez, CODENI.
  • – SOS Nicaragua UK.
  • – Morada Feminista Nicaragua UK.
  • – SOS Nicaragua- Sverige.
  • – Resistencia Civil Nicaraguense.
  • – Proyecto Lechuza.
  • – Popol Na.
  • – Movimiento por Nicaragua.
  • – Anides.
  • – Campaña 28 de septiembre por la Despenalización del Aborto – Punto focal Nicaragua.

LATIN AMERICAN ORGANIZATIONS

  • – Comité de América Latina y el Caribe para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos de las Mujeres.
  • – Iniciativa Mesoamericana de Mujeres Defensoras de Derechos Humanos, IM-Defensoras.
  • – Fundación Para el Debido Proceso, DPLF.
  • – Unidad de Protección a Defensoras y Defensores de Derechos Humanos -Guatemala, UDEFEGUA.
  • – Fondo de Acción Urgente – América Latina y el Caribe.
  • – Red Latinoamericana y del Caribe por la Democracia, REDLAD.

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

  • – Institute about Race, Equality and Human Rights, Race&Equality.
  • – International Service for Human Rights, ISHR.
  • – International Network of Human Rights, RIDH.
  • – Just Associates, JASS.
  • – CIVICUS.
  • – Asociation France-Nicaragua.
  • – Freedom House.

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