The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), through its Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression (RELE), pointed out that the administration of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo has broken democratic institutions and the rule of law in Nicaragua, in addition to continue systematically violating the human rights of Nicaraguans.
This July 27, the IACHR presented its annual report 2021 and in chapter IV.B it details that in Nicaragua “more than four years after the start of the social protests on April 18, 2018, the IACHR observes that a context of generalized impunity persists regarding the serious human rights violations committed in Nicaragua. the framework of state repression, which resulted in the death of 355 people.
They also pointed out that “the Nicaraguan population continues to be affected by the installation of a police state that enables permanent coordination between the National Police and groups sympathetic to the Government to attack, monitor, threaten and harass any person identified as an opponent of the current Government.”
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The special rapporteur for freedom of expression of the IACHR, peter cowand the rapporteur of the Special Follow-up Mechanism for Nicaragua (MESENI), Emerald Arosemenapresented the 2021 Annual Report of the IACHR, Nicaragua chapter, to the media, human rights organizations, and exiled opposition leaders in Costa Rica.
Commissioner Esmeralda Arosemena, during the event, reiterated that “a police state” persists in Nicaragua, because the regime of Daniel Ortega has been in charge of closing the civic space, where protesting is criminalized.
Governments and regimes like that of Ortega-Murillo «cannot silence the voices of their citizens by seeking these mechanisms, means. Shutting people down is producing a situation of terror, of fear, and shutting up the people has to come at a price of responsibilities,” Arosemena warned.
Ortega criminalized the work of journalists
The report also indicates that the Nicaraguan dictatorship continues to attack the country’s independent press with “stigmatizing statements and criminalizing remarks by” the Ortega-Murillo administration. Likewise, the regime has intensified the escalation of violence against journalists.
Pedro Vaca indicated that “there is a clear hunt for journalists in Nicaragua,” a country where harassment, censorship, persecution, arrests, and arbitrary legal proceedings are part of the actions of the Ortega and Murillo regime.
Likewise, he emphasized that “it affects the right of society to receive information. This has had an impact and it is difficult for the press not only to access official information, but also for people who feel confident to be able to deposit their opinion in order to contribute to the public debate.
In addition, the IACHR rapporteur recalled that there is a “forced exile of journalists” who flee Nicaragua after threats, persecution and harassment by the regime.
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«Seizure of equipment, death threats, verbal attacks, physical attacks with the aim of preventing coverage. During 2021, raids and occupations were carried out on the media, such as the one that occurred at the headquarters of Confidencial magazine on May 20 of last year, where the facilities were occupied by Police teams,” he added.
In 2021, the IACHR identified at least 65 cases of journalists in a “situation of a very high degree of vulnerability and risk.” Also, the Ortega Prosecutor’s Office summoned around 40 editors, reporters and media directors in the framework of an open investigation against the Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Foundation (FVBCH) for alleged money laundering.
The organization counts 30 media outlets and closed spaces as a result of the repression, among which Confidencial, 100% Noticias el Canal, La Prensa and Trinchera de La Noticia stand out.
Regarding the recent attack against the workers of La Prensa, Pedro Vaca maintained that he had never seen a massive forced exile of an entire editorial office of a newspaper.
“I have no record, in almost 25 years of the Office of the Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, that practically an entire newsroom had to go into exile,” he said.
International community must exert pressure against Ortega
The IACHR demands that the administration of Daniel Ortega respect the rights of Nicaraguans and guarantee the independence of the media in Nicaragua and “refrain from applying prior censorship or indirect censorship by any state body.”
Similarly, in their report they urge human rights organizations to file all legal proceedings against opposition leaders, defenders, businessmen, journalists and the media that have been arbitrarily initiated to “repress, sanction and punish the right to the expression freedoom”.
For Esmeralda Arosemena, the international community plays an important role in defending human rights in Nicaragua, since they are constantly violated by the regime.
“The issue is how the international community assumes this responsibility as an international community, not as State A, B, or C, but as that thought of the international community in the commitment of those ideals that gave rise to the birth of protective institutions of human rights (…) We all have the responsibility to evaluate and the States through their governments have that responsibility to have that awareness of humanity and enforce it, “he said.
The IACHR will continue to be a space to “denounce Nicaragua as a violator of human rights, denounce Nicaragua as not complying with its international obligations,” Arosemena concluded.
