Nicaragua
Monday 15.6.2020 Nicaragua - Latest Developments
At least 37 political prisoners in Nicaragua have presented COVID-19 symptoms say CSOs
Human rights and press freedom organisations have denounced that civic space constraints in Nicaragua continue during the pandemic, taking new forms. Lack of reliable information and even disinformation campaigns have been accompanied by continued harassment of defenders, journalists, critical voices and even doctors providing information on COVID-19. Read more
Friday 29.5.2020 Nicaragua - Latest Developments
Declining health of convicted HRD concerns family members and human rights organisations
On 30th April 2020, Karla Vanessa Escobar and Wilfredo Brenes Domínguez, two former political prisoners, were detained and charged with alleged drug and arms possession. Read more
Wednesday 20.5.2020 Nicaragua - Latest Developments
Increased police repression on second anniversary of mass mobilisation
18th April 2020 marked two years since nationwide socioeconomic protests and their brutal repression that launched an enduring a human rights and political crisis in Nicaragua. In the context of the crisis, at least 328 people have been killed, around 2,000 injured and over 700 detained. Over these two years, more than 100,000 people in Nicaragua have sought asylum abroad, reportedly fleeing persecution and human rights abuses, according to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR). Around this date, there have been several reports of increased repression of political dissidence. Read more | Read in Spanish
Monday 20.4.2020 Nicaragua - Latest Developments
CSOs denounce lack of public information on COVID-19, putting people at risk in Nicaragua
Over 100 civil society organisations in the Plataforma Nicaragüense de Redes de ONG (Nicaraguan Platform of NGO Networks) warned that the lack of coherent response from the government in the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has left the country’s population vulnerable. Read more
Wednesday 8.4.2020 Nicaragua - Latest Developments
Crackdown on feminist rallies and harassment of former political prisoners in Nicaragua
Freedom House’s “Freedom in the World” report, an annual study of political rights and civil liberties worldwide, continued to classify Nicaragua as "Not Free". Published on 4th March 2020, the annual report notes that Nicaragua had one of the largest declines in these rights and freedoms in the past 10 years, behind only Venezuela in the Americas. Read more
Friday 6.3.2020 Nicaragua - Latest Developments
Crackdown against political dissent deepens in Nicaragua
On 26th January 2020, activist María Esperanza Sánchez was detained under accusations of narcotrafficking. The arrest took place in a safe house where Sánchez had been living because of the constant siege of her home in Matagalpa. Read more
Monday 27.1.2020 Nicaragua - Latest Developments
91 political prisoners released but HRDs and journalists face continuous hostility and threats
On 16th December 2019, human rights defender Juan Chamorro said that he has received several death threats from President Daniel Ortega supporters. Chamorro is the director of opposition coalition Alianza Cívica. Read more | Read in Spanish
Thursday 28.11.2019 Nicaragua - Latest Developments
Human rights defenders in Nicaragua subjected to criminalisation, defamation and harassment
A crackdown on protests in November 2019 has raised alarm in Nicaragua. On 14th November 2019, nine mothers of imprisoned opposition activists began a hunger strike in the San Miguel Church in Masaya, calling for the release of 130 people allegedly detained in the context of the protests. According to reports, the premises were quickly barricaded by police and pro-government groups, who cut off water and electricity. They were under siege for nine days. Activists who attempted to provide water and medicine to the strikers have been criminalised.
In addition, reports indicate the continuous harassment of human rights defenders and activists who have taken part in protests in the country. Finally, three Nicaraguan newspapers have decided to suspend publications due to the adverse environment in which they have had to operate.
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Tuesday 1.10.2019 Nicaragua - Latest Developments
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights reports persistent repression of dissent in Nicaragua
Despite the negotiations between Nicaragua’s government and the opposition coalition Alianza Cívica por la Justicia y la Democracia (Civic Alliance for Justice and Democracy), and notwithstanding the release of 56 political prisoners earlier in 2019, the repression of dissent has persisted in Nicaragua. This is the conclusion of the latest report of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on the country’s situation, published on 4th September 2019. At the same time, international writers’ association PEN International stated that the repression of freedom of expression in Nicaragua is becoming more acute. Read more | Read in Spanish
