Despite international scrutiny at the IACHR and UN, crackdown on CSOs persists

Introduction

Nicaragua’s human rights record criticised at the international level

On 9th November 2023, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) released a report detailing repressive strategies employed by the Nicaraguan government to ensure total control over the civic space. The IACHR concluded that Nicaragua lacks the enabling conditions for civil society to engage safely and freely in social and political activities. In essence, “civic and democratic space is closed.”

The IACHR noted that there have been “patterns of criminalisation of persons identified as opponents of the government and the arbitrary deprivation of nationality, the prohibition of protests and social demonstrations, as well as the measures adopted to weaken civil society through the dismantling of social movements and the media, the selective persecution of anyone who questions the government in any area of civic and social participation, including religious participation, the massive closure of organisations, and banishment or forced expulsion.”

It also called on the Nicaraguan state to cease all acts of repression and persecution against persons considered to be political opponents, as well as adopt the necessary measures to overcome the human rights crisis through the re-establishment of democratic institutions, the rule of law and fundamental freedoms.

Likewise, on 24th November 2023, the Group of Experts on Human Rights on Nicaragua (Group of Experts) published a report (A/HRC/52/63) on the Group’s findings with respect to severe human rights violations perpetrated in Nicaragua since April 2018, “including extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detention, torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, arbitrary deprivation of nationality and violations of the right to remain in one’s own country.”

According to the Experts, these human rights violations “targeting real or perceived opponents of the Government, have created a climate of persecution involving the suppression of dissent in all spheres of social and political life.” As a result, thousands of HRDs, journalists, student leaders, religious figures, artists and prominent national and regional political opposition figures have been forced into exile. Thus, virtually all the CSOs now operate abroad, while those who remain in Nicaragua are subjected to self-censorship.

Notably, there were gender-related aspects to specific human rights violations, leading to different impacts on men, women and LGBTQI+ people. Particular groups of women, identified by their roles as women HRDs, feminists and leaders, were specifically targeted. Moreover, the closure of women’s organisations following targeted stigmatisation campaigns has led to a significant setback in the advancement of women's rights in Nicaragua.

Lastly, on 9th October 2023, the Council of the European Union extended its restrictive measures against Nicaragua for an additional year, until 15th October 2024, in light of the ongoing political crisis in the country. The measures, first introduced in October 2019, target at least 21 individuals and three entities and include an asset freeze and travel ban. The European Union has reiterated its commitment to defending democracy, the rule of law, and human rights in Nicaragua. It has called for a peaceful resolution to the crisis through genuine dialogue between the government and the opposition. The sanctions regime has been extended several times previously, with the most recent extension occurring in October 2022.

Association

Criminalisation of Indigenous Miskitu leaders

Two days after the arbitrary detention of Brooklyn Rivera Bryan in late September 2023, on Sunday, 1st October 2023, the National Police arbitrarily detained the indigenous Miskitu leader, Nancy Elizabeth Henríquez James, in Managua. She was accompanied by her three-year-old grandson and her niece, who were also detained for nine hours at the police station. Her family members were released, but she has remained in custody. The police authorities did not provide the legal grounds for her detention or whereabouts. According to the IACHR, on 17th October, 1st and 22nd November 2023, Henríquez James’ family members were only allowed unofficial visits at the La Esperanza Women’s Prison, where she is detained.

Henríquez James, the President of YATAMA (Yapti Tasba Masraka Nanih Aslatakanka, or “Children of Mother Earth United”), has been serving as a legal substitute for Rivera Bryan as a regional member of the House of Representatives at the Nicaraguan Assembly since April 2023. In April 2023, Rivera Bryan attended the 22nd session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues of the United Nations in New York (USA), where he denounced the situation of indigenous peoples and Afro-descendants in Nicaragua. However, he was denied re-entry to the country in April 2023. A few days later, he returned clandestinely and remained in the Mosquitia region, on the Caribbean North Coast, under constant surveillance by the National Police, who were aware of every move he made until his detention on 29th September 2023. Since then, the authorities have provided no information on his fate or whereabouts.

On 19th December 2023, the IACHR reported that the two YATAMA leaders had been subjected to mistreatment during their detention. Both are being held in inadequate conditions, with insufficient access to medical care and personal hygiene items. Additionally, the detention conditions of Henríquez James are described as inhuman and lacking in basic needs.

During this period, the IACHR highlighted that the family members of Henriquez James had been under threat, some of them having received information about arrest warrants against them, which forced them into exile. In particular, the case of her grandson, as she was exercising his care and upbringing because his mother is currently in exile. In the case of Rivera Bryan, no information is available on the status of the judicial proceedings against him. The lack of legal representation for Rivera Bryan is also concerning, as lawyers in Nicaragua are reportedly afraid to take legal action due to fear of reprisals from the government.

The IACHR also asserted that Rivera Bryan and Henríquez James were arbitrarily and illegally deprived of their parliamentary seat because the established procedures were not followed. It also indicated that no legal procedure was conducted to remove them from their positions as regional deputies or to strip them of their parliamentary immunity, as required by internal regulations.

Meanwhile, as informed by the media in mid-December 2023, Henríquez James was sentenced without due process to eight years in prison for spreading false news and undermining national integrity.

In response to a petition from the IACHR requesting precautionary measures to safeguard Rivera Bryan and Henríquez James on 22nd December 2023 and 1st February 2024, the Inter-American Court on Human Rights (IACtHR) has ordered the release of both Indigenous leaders. In both resolutions, it emphasised that they had been subjected to persecution due to their critical stance against the Nicaraguan government, with the aim of harassing and eliminating them from the political space. Their detention may amount to a form of reprisal against indigenous movements that question the government’s actions to silence dissenting voices. At the time of writing, both YATAMA leaders are beneficiaries of the provisional measures by the IACtHR.

These are no isolated cases. As reported by the Group of Experts, there is a pattern of violent arrests without a warrant, incommunicado and without due process:

Indigenous opposition party revoked

Following the arbitrary detentions of the two leaders of YATAMA (as detailed above), on 5th October 2023, the Supreme Electoral Council (Consejo Supremo Electoral, CSE) revoked the legal status of the Indigenous political party YATAMA, alleging that the party had “undermined Nicaragua’s national integrity.” This move left the ruling Ortega-led Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) party without opposition in the upcoming local elections in March 2024.

According to the IACHR, the resolution by the CSE stated that YATAMA’S representatives violated Law No. 1055, Law on the Defense of the Rights of People to Independence, Sovereignty and Self-Determination for Peace. Specifically, it noted that Brooklyn Rivera Bryan and Nancy Elizabeth Henríquez James “have been publicly expressing a discourse that distorts and falsifies the reality of the country.” In 2021, the IACHR condemned the government’s use of Law No. 1055, along with the Regulation Law on Foreign Agents, both enacted in 2020, to revoke the legal status of opposition parties and bar candidates from participating in elections: “These norms arbitrarily restrict electoral competition, the exercise of political rights, and other rights, such as freedom of expression and of association.”

Indigenous and Afro-descendent communities are underrepresented in the National Assembly, and YATAMA, rooted in Nicaragua’s largest Indigenous community—the Miskitos—serves as the primary political organisation of Indigenous people in Nicaragua. Since 2000, the Miskitos community has challenged the electoral laws to secure representation as elected officials advocating for Indigenous communities. In 2005, the IACtHR established that the Yatama organisation holds the right to political participation for Indigenous communities, as enshrined in the American Convention on Human Rights, which requires more specific rights to (i) special remedial measures and procedural safeguards to ensure effective participation, and (ii) participate in the national political systems according to Indigenous traditional systems.

IACHR granted precautionary measures to political prisoners in Nicaragua

In late December 2023, the IACHR granted urgent measures to 10 political prisoners and their families. In each resolution, the IACHR described situations of heightened risk for all the beneficiaries, which include alleged ill-treatment in the penitentiary system, threats against them and their families, and lack of appropriate medical assistance. The urgent measures seek to protect and guarantee their lives and integrity. The Court also requested that the State respect political prisoners’ rights without reprisals and release them immediately.

The beneficiaries of the measures are Freddy Antonio Quezada, Kevin Emilio Castillo Prado et. al. (Víctor Jobelni Ticay Ruiz, Sergio Catarino Castiblanco Hernández, Jacqueline de Jesús Rodríguez Herrera, J.E.C.W., Olesia Auxiliadora Muñoz Pavón, Anielka Lucía García Zapata, Melba Damaris Hernández) and Abdul Montoya Vivas and his family.

Judicial persecution of employees of Caritas

The Nicaraguan government’s repressive measures against the Catholic Church have had a broad impact, extending beyond the organisation itself. Churchgoers, employees, and those perceived as collaborators have been impacted.

On 24th December 2023, six former employees, Julio Sevilla, Julio Berríos, Bladimir Pallés, María Verónica Herrera Galeano, Freydell Andino and Mariví Andino, of the Catholic charity Caritas in the diocese of Estelí were sentenced to six years in prison for alleged money laundering. This incident followed the closure of Caritas by the authorities in March 2023.

Expression

Mass detentions against Catholic priests

According to Human Rights Watch, repression of the Catholic Church, which began in 2018 when Catholic leaders criticised violence against protesters, has been escalating. Between 20th and 30th December 2023, at least 13 priests and two seminarians were arbitrarily detained, among them Carlos Avilés, Silvio Fonseca, Miguel Mántica and Pablo Villafranca. These detentions are in addition to the conviction of Bishop Rolando Álvarez in 2023, a high-profile political prisoner who was detained in 2022 for criticising the government and then sentenced in 2023 to 26 years in prison for alleged treason.

“The arrests of priests hinder the free and fearless exercise of faith in Nicaragua. Freedom of worship and thought are fundamental pillars in a plural and democratic society. Protecting them is essential to fostering an inclusive and respectful society. The arrest of these 14 clerics adds to the political condemnation against the bishop of Matagalpa, Rolando Álvarez, and Monsignor Isidoro Mora, head of the diocese of Siuna,” said the Legal Defense Unit (UDJ).

Similarly, on 4th January 2024, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) condemned this incident. “USCIRF is outraged that the Nicaraguan government has chosen to continue its brutal crackdown on members of the Catholic Church for speaking out about the religious freedom and human rights violations occurring in the country,” said USCIRF Vice Chair Frederick A. Davie.

On 14th January 2024, at least 17 priests and seminarians were expelled to the Vatican, some within days of their arrest, without any formal charges having been brought.

Report on freedom of expression

On 10th January 2024, freedom of expression network Voces del Sur published its annual report on press freedom in Nicaragua. The report highlighted an escalation in evictions, confiscations, and surveillance of family members of independent journalists throughout 2023.

According to the data gathered by Voces del Sur, by the end of the year, there were primarily 33 instances of physical attacks, 22 cases of smear campaigns, and three instances of arbitrary detentions. At least 64 journalists were affected, and 36 Nicaraguan journalists were forced into exile.

Although the number of incidents decreased significantly compared to those reported in 2022, the report emphasised that assaults, harassment, intimidation, and criminalisation of independent journalism in Nicaragua persist, with new methods being employed. These tactics extend to target even retired or former journalists.