Nicaraguan judge Abelardo Alvir Ramos ordered 90 days in prison that will keep two employees of the newspaper behind bars the press from Nicaragua while an investigation progresses.
The judge’s order came after a guarantee hearing held on Friday, July 8. The Prosecutor in charge of this case is Manuel Rugama, who was in charge of the accusation against the Violeta Barrios Foundationaccording to a newspaper report published on its website.
The detainees – whose identity is unknown at the request of their relatives – worked as drivers for the newspaper, however, only one accompanied a journalist and a photographer to document the expulsion of the missionaries of the Maria Teresa de Calcutta order days ago.
This coverage triggered a persecution against that team of reporters, as reported by the Nicaraguan media.
the press It also reported that the two workers are in the maximum security prison, known as El Chipote, and it is unknown what they are accused of.
He also explained that defenders were not allowed to enter. “It is assumed that both lawyers from the Public Defender’s Office accompanied them,” the newspaper’s note indicated.
in an editorial posted on the weekend, the press criticized that the authorities “did not previously inform that the departure of the nuns to Costa Rica was a security operation with restriction or prohibition of journalistic coverage, so that the members of the press They went to cover the event.”
“The media and journalists exist and work to bring information to the public, they are not and should not be the news, they are only witnesses, but due to the political circumstances in Nicaragua, journalists and media outlets are often turned into victims, and therefore in news, contrary to the logic of journalism”, lamented the newspaper in the editorial titled ‘The Press continues under police siege’.
Uncertainty in coverage
The arrests that the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) has classified as “a new wave of persecution by the Nicaraguan government” have generated concern among the newspaper’s reporters, who have even they had suppressed their signatures on the articles for fear of retaliation.
One of them, who avoided being summoned for fear of his safety, told the voice of america that there is uncertainty and a lot of fear within the staff of the press, at a time when the attacks from the Sandinista government led by Daniel Ortega continue.
For example, he said, in less than a year there have been several serious events, starting with the raid on the facilities, which led to the disappearance of the printed newspaper; the arrest of general manager Juan Lorenzo Holmann in September 2021; And now the new chase.
“It makes you feel unsafe even in your own home,” the source said. “The anguish we feel when thinking that the next on the list of detainees could be me, or my co-worker, and the damage or repercussions that this arrest can cause to the family is incessant. In Nicaragua you cannot do journalism, except with the narrative of the ruling party,” said the reporter.
He also stated that this persecution tries to send a clear message: “that the government does not tolerate and will not tolerate any longer the media that report on what is really happening or will happen in the country.”
That includes, he advanced, the coverage of the next municipal elections to be held in November. “It is more than clear that Sandinismo is going to consummate absolute control in the territories.”
the press de Nicaragua is the oldest newspaper in the country with almost 100 years of existence. Throughout its history it has been closed several times, including during the Anastasio Somoza dictatorship. He faced the same fate during the first term of Daniel Ortega in the 1980s. The bad streak has worsened in recent years, after Ortega’s return to power in 2007.
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