The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) requested on Thursday to grant provisional protection measures in favor of 45 protesters and opponents imprisoned in Nicaragua and their respective families for being in an “extremely serious situation” and risking “irreparable damage to their rights.” ”.
In a press release published on its website, the IACHR made its call to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IA Court), both autonomous bodies of the Organization of American States (OAS). He indicated that the group includes people who have participated in protests since 2018, opponents of the Daniel Ortega administration and members of sectors of civil society who “have expressed their disagreement with the policies of the current government.”
The 45 prisoners are in eight detention centers in the country, including the “Jorge Navarro” penitentiary center or La Modelo prison, the “La Esperanza” women’s prison and the Judicial Assistance Directorate of the Police, also known as “New Chipote”. ” or “El Chipote,” the report stated.
In the police cells of “El Chipote” at least 27 political and student leaders, journalists, businessmen and human rights defenders remain imprisoned which were recently presented to the media official press.
The IACHR recalled that it previously granted precautionary measures in favor of these people and their families, because “the requirements of seriousness, urgency and irreparability” in their humanitarian condition were met, without having received a response from the State of Nicaragua indicating that protective measures have been taken in their favour.
“This situation is especially worrying, given that the aforementioned persons have been held incommunicado, placed in risky detention conditions, which would be aggravated by the lack of medical attention,” the entity warned.
He also stressed that these people “do not have the minimum guarantees” in their judicial processes, while “the escalation of the crisis” in Nicaragua continues. “The State continues without providing concrete, detailed and updated information on its current situation, despite the requests” presented, he pointed out.
Due to the foregoing, the IACHR asked the Inter-American Court “to order the State of Nicaragua to implement protection measures in favor of the 45 identified persons and their families.”
The group of detainees includes the activists Evelyn Pinto, María Esperanza Sánchez and Karla Vanessa Escobar; opposition leaders Yubrank Suazo, José Antonio Peraza, Wilfredo Brenes, Walter Montenegro and Edward Lacayo; the lawyers Róger Reyes and José Manuel Urbina Lara, the sociologist Irving Larios and the student Kevin Solís, among the best known.
The report recalled that the Inter-American Court can issue provisional measures “in cases of extreme gravity and urgency to avoid irreparable harm to persons,” which are mandatory for the States, which are required to “adopt specific actions to safeguard human rights.” and/or protect the life” of people or groups under threat.
Nicaragua is experiencing a serious political crisis that began with the anti-government protests of 2018, when the repression of police and paramilitaries left 355 dead, more than 2,000 injured, 1,600 detained at different times and more than 100,000 exiled, according to IACHR figures. .
According to the most recent report of the Mechanism for the Recognition of Political Prisoners in Nicaragua, whose data is endorsed by the IACHR, the current number of detainees for political reasons in the country is 205, of which 20 are women and 10 have been imprisoned since before 2018.
Connect with the Voice of America! Subscribe to our channel Youtube and turn on notifications, or follow us on social media: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
