The daughter of the general manager of the newspaper La Prensa Juan Lorenzo Holmann, Renata Holmann, denounced before the 78th General Assembly of the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) the situation of “anguish and concern” that her relatives are going through due to the inhuman conditions that the newspaper is experiencing. political prisoner in the cells of the Directorate of Judicial Assistance in Managua.
«I live with the anguish of not being able to see him again, that he dies confined in the cells of El Chipote despite his innocence. I also fear for
The safety of the rest of my family that is still in Nicaragua, a fear that has worsened now that the regime is cruel against relatives of prisoners and opponents who have gone into exile. I fear that I will never be able to return to my country, Nicaragua, to my home,” Renata Holmann said at the session of the Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information.
Related news: IAPA thanks the IACHR for its protection of Juan Lorenzo Holmann, manager of La Prensa
Holmann denounced that his father’s rights “have been continuously violated. Since the end of August, more than 60 days ago, we have not heard from him or his state of health, which has been affected by the inhumane conditions of the cells in which he is kept in small spaces of two by two meters; sealed cells with mold on the walls due to lack of ventilation and light; bad nutrition; and the most alarming is a lack of timely and specialized medical attention », he added.
The daughter of Ortega’s hostage also expressed concern about her father’s current state of health, noting that “three months before his kidnapping, he had returned to the country after a complicated heart operation, from which he was barely recovering. He is also hypertensive, suffers from prostate, has undergone surgery on both eyes for retinal detachment and a severe problem was discovered in the aorta that should be constantly monitored. In El Chipote, he has developed new ailments due to prison conditions, such as difficulty walking, which
we assume it is due to an abdominal hernia; a black spot on the right eye, fungus on the hands and feet, and sometimes difficulty breathing».
The opponent was arrested on August 14, 2021, after the dictatorship raided the facilities of La Prensa and took it over. Holmann remains confined to a 2×2 meter punishment cell in the jail.
Related news: Juan Lorenzo Holmann celebrates a year of imprisonment and torture in “El Nuevo Chipote”
The political prisoner has been imprisoned for more than a year, the regime showed him before the official cameras in which he appeared thinner, with dark circles under his eyes and a lighter skin color. His family has repeatedly denounced that the political prisoner has lost a lot of weight due to poor nutrition in prison.
«When the official media circulated photos and videos of my father at the end of August, I could barely recognize him. I saw him fragile and convalescing, thin, revealing the mistreatment to which he is subjected,” said Renata, assuring that despite this situation her father “remains firm, unwavering, with faith in God, faithful to his values and his commitment to freedom of expression and democracy in Nicaragua.
In addition, he emphasized that “family members also live in a state of permanent torture as we see the deterioration of the health of political prisoners and witness what appears to be a death sentence in slow motion. Every day, my heart aches, for my father and for the more than 209 political prisoners who are kidnapped. I share the pain of their families, and the pain of Nicaragua as a whole, because we Nicaraguans also find ourselves in a huge prison, without having the right to express our opinions and express ourselves freely,” concluded Holmann.
The general manager of La Prensa was sentenced to nine years in prison for the alleged crime of money laundering. He was found guilty on March 23. During that course, the Prosecutor’s Office presented as witnesses the police officers who carried out the inspection and search of an empty building, where the old facilities of the Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Foundation (FVBCH) were located. In addition to his sentence, they imposed a multi-million dollar fine.
