A group of 24 political prisoners from the Jorge Navarro Penitentiary System, known as La Modelo, and from the Directorate of Judicial Assistance, known as El Chipote, continue on a hunger strike and their health conditions are uncertain for their relatives, who denounce that in El Chipote they are not given any information and in the Prison, whether they protest or not, everyone suffers reprisals from the officials.
The political prisoners Miguel Mendoza, Róger Reyes, Irving Larios and Dora María Téllez reported more than ten days ago that they were beginning a hunger strike, demanding visits with their minor children and an end to the prolonged and solitary isolation to which they are subjected in The chipotle. Later, between September 26 and 28, a group of 20 political prisoners from La Modelo also reported the start of an indefinite hunger strike, demanding “immediate and unconditional freedom” and, while that happens, better prison conditions.
Margin Pozo, wife of political prisoner Miguel Mendoza, stated in an interview with CONFIDENTIALwho “unfortunately” do not know what their partner’s health condition is, since they have not had a visit with him for more than a month and, despite the fact that every day when they go to leave water they request information at the reception of El Chipote, “the officers express that they are not authorized” to inform them of anything.
The sports writer began a hunger strike for 18 daysdemanding that the Ortega regime allow the visit of his nine-year-old daughter, whom he has not seen since the night of June 21, 2021, when he was arrested at his home and taken to El Chipote.
On September 21, relatives of the political prisoner warned that “he is a chronic patient and has lost more than 30 pounds, so this measure puts his health and life at risk.” Although they clarified that Mendoza is “aware of the risks”, he “considers that it is the only way out that they have left him in his attempts to see his daughter again, after these 475 days that are equivalent to more than 10,900 hours without hugging to his little girl.”
“I am anguished, hoping that soon they will visit. Since September we are not allowed to see our relatives. Alejandra cries every day for him. She asks me about when will they let her see her dad. She expresses that her heart suffers a lot and that she will not be well until she gives her father a hug, “Pozo stated.
He explained that as a family they have consulted with a diabetologist about the repercussions that Miguel could have due to the hunger strike he is holding, as a protest against the forced separation from his daughter, and he warned them that because he is a “diabetic patient, low blood sugar, by not eating food, it could cause fainting.”
Daughters of Róger Reyes cry for not seeing their father
Fernanda Guevara, wife of Róger Reyes, lamented that due to the “incommunicado regimen” to which the prisoners of conscience of El Chipote are subjected, who do not even have an established schedule of visits, “we do not know anything about the health condition of my husband”.
“In reception we are never given information, so until I see my husband I will know about his health, meanwhile here we are worried, because we do not know if he has been sick due to this strike,” she denounced.
She explained that her partner told her that if they did not authorize a visit with her daughters before September 20, she would initiate a hunger strikedemanding the right to see and have communication with her three and five-year-old children, whom she has not seen for more than a year.
Reyes’ daughters do not know that their father has been imprisoned by the regime since August 20, 2021. Guevara assured that they only know, because on weekends they accompany her to leave water, that their father is in that building, in El Chipote , “but they don’t know that they have him kidnapped there.”
“My daughters do not know that he is imprisoned in that place, they only know that he is in there, that is all they handle, and there is always crying because they cannot go in to see him,” he lamented.
Regarding the health situation of the political prisoner Dora María Téllez, a former Sandinista guerrilla and part of the Unión Democrática Renovadora (Unamos), who has been on a hunger strike since September 23, members of the political group to which she belongs said they do not have more information. In addition, she called and sent messages to relatives of the political prisoner Irving Larios, who served twelve days on hunger strike, but until the publication of this report they did not respond.
Retaliation in La Modelo
Relatives of political prisoners from La Modelo also denounced in an interview with CONFIDENCIAL that, after the announcement of the hunger strike made by some prisoners of conscience, all those deprived of liberty for political reasons have suffered reprisals from the prison authorities.
Some of the repressive actions carried out by La Modelo officials included abusive searches in the cells of political prisoners and threats of transfer to punishment cells.
“Since Tuesday we have been aware that they have been conducting searches in the cells of our political prisoners. They come in whenever they want, sometimes at dawn, they throw everything on the floor, they put their hands in all their food and threaten them, they tell them that they will take them to the punishment cells if they are on a hunger strike. ”, denounced a relative of a political prisoner of La Modelo.
Another relative of a prisoner of conscience explained that last week his relative confirmed that the strike “continues” despite the reprisals of which they have been victims. He explained that the political prisoner was the victim of an abusive search in his cell, officials threw all his supplies at him and warned him that if he continued on strike he would be taken to the punishment cells known as “la 300”.
Relatives of the political prisoners of La Modelo who do not participate in the hunger strike also expressed concern about the measures carried out by prison officials, since, they point out, “they are going against everyone, whether or not they are on strike, even forcing them to take the lollipop, taking photos at lunch, to try to disprove those who say they are on strike”.
The regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo keeps more than 200 people imprisoned for political reasons in Nicaragua. Relatives have denounced that prisoners of conscience suffer torture and ill-treatment in the country’s different cells, and are subjected to inhumane prison conditions contrary to international standards, since they are denied visits with their minor relatives, They are denied access to specialized medical care, reading and writing material, and are restricted from visiting and accessing the sun patio as a method of torture.
