A call to the Nicaraguan authorities to stop the acts of repression against members of the Catholic Church, was made this Friday, August 19, by the Presidency of the Central American Council of Human Rights Attorneys, headed by the Panamanian Ombudsman , Eduardo Leblanc González, who expressed his deep concern about the facts in violation of the American Convention on Human Rights.
The call gains strength after learning that the Nicaraguan government ordered the arrest of the priest Rolando Álvarez, who opposes the regime of President Daniel Ortega, who has been in power since 2007.
The Central American Council of Human Rights Ombudsmen had already expressed its concern on August 4 through the Communiqué, where it urged the Government of Nicaragua to reconsider the actions taken against the media, as well as members of the Church. Catholic, since States must promote, respect and guarantee the right of all people to express their opinions or ideas by any means and without fear of being persecuted, punished or stigmatized, as established by the American Convention on Human Rights.
They also reported that they have learned that the actions against the representatives of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua have not ceased and persecution actions have been carried out, where the international media refer to aggressions against priests, desecration of temples, attacks, sieges, among others, which constitute serious violations of Human Rights.
“From the Presidency of the Central American Council of Human Rights Attorneys, we call for the cessation of the authoritarian actions that the Government of Nicaragua exercises over the representatives of the Catholic Church, thereby creating a situation of uncertainty in the population” .
In this sense, they demanded the release of all the representatives of the Catholic Church who have been detained during the persecution actions, seeking respect for the fundamental guarantees established in the International Human Rights Instruments. With which we make a firm call to stop the repression.