The relatives of the political prisoners faced this weekend more than the anguish accumulated during 85 days in which the Daniel Ortega regime did not allow visits in the El Chipote police prison. They suffered humiliation and degrading treatment before seeing their loved ones, whom they found thinner and in poor health.
Two testimonies collected by the television program Esta Semana, published this Sunday, November 20, confirmed that the relatives of prisoners of conscience were stripped naked and forced to do squats by the authorities to supposedly verify if they were not “wearing anything from outside.”
Cristopher Mendoza, nephew of chronicler Miguel Mendoza—convicted of spreading false news and “conspiring” against national integrity—reported that his uncle’s wife, Margine Pozo, was stripped and searched by an official, which was “very hard for she”.
“Her underwear had to be removed, they check her body. My uncle feels sad about it. Some expressions that he said to her, when he saw her, were: sorry love, because this situation has put you in these conditions, ”he said.
Renata Holmann, daughter of political prisoner Juan Lorenzo Holmann—manager of the newspaper La Prensa and convicted of a fabricated case of money laundering—, reported abuse to her mother, who was also forced to take off all her clothes and do squats.
“My 95-year-old grandmother was treated with a little more respect, but she was still extensively searched. My family’s experience is not unique. This abuse is widespread towards all relatives of political prisoners and has really increased with each visit. It is disrespectful and one more attempt to humiliate and violate the relatives who only want to visit the political prisoners,” Holmann said on the television program.
Last week, the relatives of more than 40 political prisoners imprisoned in El Chipote sued in a public letter “a proof of life” after the lack of authorization for visits from the police authorities, which kept them in uncertainty and made them fear a worsening of the situation.
Gonzalo Carrión, coordinator of the Nicaragua Human Rights collective Never +, explained from exile that the torture carried out by the dictatorship against political prisoners has also been extended to their relatives.
Carrión recalled that they have collected, since the collective was founded, 170 testimonies that account for the horror and methods of torture in El Chipote, a police prison that is a reference center in the region for this type of abuse, which is part of of a system that is extensive to police cells and prison systems.
Various testimonies have mentioned various methods that threaten the integrity of prisoners of conscience, such as the continuous interrogations to which they are subjected, sleep deprivation—whether by exposure to light at night, or by the total absence of it —, isolation, the refusal to visit minor children and even permission to read.
“This way of almost three months without contact with the family, is part of the suffering to which people deprived of liberty are subjected and also extends to the family, because they do not know how they are. It is a double-track suffering”, added the human rights defender.
“The dictatorship is slowly killing them”
The relatives also confirmed that the physical deterioration of the prisoners of the dictatorship continues, due to a very bad diet. Alfredo Mairena, brother of peasant leader Medardo Mairena, reported that the political prisoner has lost 80 pounds since he began his confinement on July 6, 2021.
“The dictatorship is slowly killing them. The physical condition is worrisome. Those of us who know Medardo are not him. He tells my sister that he is worse: he looks more affected, thinner, ”said this man, who added that the peasant leader also suffers from blood circulation problems.
Mairena explained that with a three-day hunger strike, her brother managed to get him transferred from a punishment cell to another place, but they still do not take him out into the sun, which he considers “worrying.”
Cristopher Mendoza added that his uncle Miguel Mendoza was deceived by police officers. They arrived asking among the political prisoners who had small children, which the sportswriter believed was a promise that they would allow him to see his daughter. In the end they didn’t.
He added that Miguel Mendoza continues to lose weight, which worries them because he lost more than 30 pounds during his confinement. Although he reflects a good frame of mind, Christopher insisted that his uncle’s deterioration is evident.
For his part, Holmann said that they also found his father thinner. Although his blood pressure is more stable, he assures, they have not given him the medical attention he needs due to his heart problems. He also has a problem with a hernia that has not been treated and that makes it difficult for him to walk.
“As for his mental health, he is firm, convinced that the truth will win sooner or later. He is fine and God is giving him the strength to keep going and survive the abuse he is going through,” he added.
The daughter of Irving Larios, another of the political prisoners and whom the regime exhibited haggard last September in the Managua courts, he also complained about the food, which he says is “deplorable.”
She recounted that the food that they always give her father is “dough rice” and a little beans. Other times boiled egg and chayote. It’s bad quality. So great is Larios’ weight loss—she estimates 40 pounds less since her abduction—that her ears and teeth look “out of proportion.”
He also has trouble lifting one arm, where a “ball” came out. They have not given him the necessary medical attention either. “He has problems with his head, it is not known if it is a fungus, he is asking for a shampoo on his head. It is like a great itch, not only him, but there are other people with the same condition, ”she denounced.
The young woman also confirmed that her father suspended the hunger strike, he is emotionally strong, and he is lucid and coherent.
