The released politicians Félix Maradiaga and Juan Sebastián Chamorro assured that, despite the hardship of having spent months in prison in subhuman situations, they come out with more desire to fight for democracy in Nicaragua. They also thanked the national and international community for the sustained demand for the release of political prisoners and asked that the issue of Nicaragua continue on the agenda.
“For having been victims of injustice, because we did not commit any crime, and for having seen that farce of the political system, we can only leave more committed to a change towards institutionality and respect for human rights,” Chamorro pointed out.
Thus, he explained, despite the fact that in prison they could speak very little and despite the short time they have been out of jail, just over a day, he believes “that there is a feeling on the part of those of us who were imprisoned to continue this fight.”
“There is a sense of community from all of us, a sense of duty and responsibility and a lifelong commitment so that Nicaragua does not suffer these abuses again. That is the more general vibe,” she added.
keep suing for freedom
“The issue of human rights must continue on the agenda, there are 44 political prisoners who remained in jail, the issue of exiles is an issue that must continue to be worked on with the international community (…) It would be a pity if after all This effort to free us will lead to a cooling of the issue,” Chamorro asked. during a press conference moderated by international lawyer Jared Genser.
In the virtual meeting, Maradiaga assured that at this moment he does not feel prepared to talk about the prison conditions that he lived through for 610 days, “but I will simply say that no human being should be in those conditions” and often added that “for having lived through them I am more committed than ever to put an end to this type of arbitrariness in Nicaragua.”
Juan Sebastián pointed out that “in effect, prison makes you change, especially if it is for a long period of time, as was the case with us.” However, it is not a change of conviction because after living in our own flesh “we can only leave more than committed to fight for a change and this change occurs towards ‘institutionality’, respect for human rights and the public liberties”.
Both political prisoners were candidates for the presidency of Nicaragua and had been public figures of the Civic Alliance for Justice and Democracy (ACJD) and the Blue and White National Unity (UNAB), respectively. The two were arrested on June 8, 2021.
During their time in prison they were in isolation Maradiaga declared that he never had access to any type of legal advice, “we were tried in conditions never seen before, not even in Nicaragua, where the Ortega regime has been characterized by arbitrariness.”
An extraordinary day with Felix @maradiaga & @bertavalle + @VickyCardenasL & Juan @Jschamorrog – 19 months of intense work to free them and all the #political #prisoners of #Nicaragua. pic.twitter.com/5Ck2EqlX4c
— Jared Genser (@JaredGenser) February 10, 2023
the banishment
Félix Maradiaga described that he found out about his expulsion from Nicaragua until he was on the highway in front of the international airport and it was not until then that they gave him a handwritten piece of paper stating that he would leave voluntarily. Many hours later, already on US soil, he learned about the stripping of his Nicaraguan nationality.
“The stripping of our nationality does not make any sense, not even within the same arbitrary legal regime, because, for example, the supposed law strips of nationality any person who was tried by law 1055 and none of us who were there were tried. by Law 1055, which is a civil law and not a criminal one,” he said.
For his part, Chamorro thanked Spain for the gesture of granting their nationality to the political prisoners who were left stateless by order of the dictatorship. “It is a generous offer that fills us with hope, in particular informing us of this news, but I am sure that many of the 222 political prisoners would be making decisions about it.”
“It is a medieval dictatorship”
Maradiaga added that “what is happening (in Nicaragua) should be a case study for the collapse of institutions anywhere in the world. Removing nationality, the issue of exile, is something that is completely unacceptable and under any political or legal perspective.
The political activist compared the behavior of the dictatorship with the medieval empires that banished their adversaries, and assures that his concern is not only for electoral interest or some presidential aspiration, “this is easily resolved if there are clear rules of the game. Our concern is the collapse of democratic institutions and the fundamental rights of Nicaraguans.”
“It was believed that the issue of political prisoners was an issue of the past, but unfortunately in Nicaragua it is an issue that must continue to be worked on. Not only for the 44 who stayed inside, including Monsignor Álvarez who is in La Modelo and decided not to leave, but for future generations (…) There has not been a single generation in the last 200 years that has not suffered war, kidnappings , violation of rights, exile and murder. And that has to change,” added Chamorro.
