The Amnesty International organization declared the indigenous leader Brooklyn Rivera as a prisoner of conscience and demands that the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo immediately release him. At the same time, the international organization reiterates its complaint against Ortega’s repressive model, which has plunged Nicaragua into an unprecedented human rights crisis that continues to deepen after six years.
Rivera denounced the situation of indigenous peoples in an international forum in April 2023. After the Caribbean leader’s complaint, the regime denied him entry; However, Rivera managed to enter the country through alternate routes and was arrested in September of that same year by Ortega’s supporters. Since then, his whereabouts, state of health and conditions of detention have been unknown, increasing concern for his safety.
After 14 months of forced disappearance, in November 2024, the Sandinista dictatorship admitted in a session of the UN Universal Periodic Review, having Brooklyn Rivera in its custody, accusing him of treason, undermining national integrity and conspiracy.
«Exercising his rights and dissenting from government policies made him a target of the repressive machinery. “His case reflects how the authorities have maintained a policy of intolerance and punishment of any critical voice,” explained Ana Piquer.
Brooklyn Rivera is one of the hundreds of people who have been unjustly imprisoned in Nicaragua since 2018 for exercising their rights. “By declaring him a prisoner of conscience, we reaffirm that no one should be deprived of their liberty for defending their rights,” says Amnesty International.
For the organization, this appointment of Brooklyn Rivera is a recognition for those who are still detained by the regime or missing for exercising their rights, and for all those people who from forced exile continue to resist and fight for a country that respects and protect human rights.
“Amnesty International once again urges the government of Nicaragua to immediately stop all repressive practices, guarantee respect for the human rights of the entire population and cease the criminalization of dissent.”
To determine whether someone is a prisoner of conscience, Amnesty International relies on information available to it about the circumstances leading to their arrest. By adopting someone as a prisoner of conscience, Amnesty International affirms that that person must be released immediately and unconditionally.
