Nicaraguan bishop Monsignor Rolando Álvarez, a critic of the government of President Daniel Ortega, spent 40 days on Tuesday under house arrest, without reporting the condition in which he finds himself, while at the international level the voices calling for his release increase .
Since August 4, National Police officers prevented Álvarez from leaving the Episcopal Palace to the Matagalpa Cathedral, located in the center of the country, and a day later an investigation was announced against him for allegedly organizing violent groups and inciting them to “execute acts of hate.”
And the tension became more acute on August 19 when the cleric was taken out in the early hours of the morning by the Police and transferred to a private house in Managua, while those who accompanied him, seven priests, two seminarians and a layman, are imprisoned. at El Chipote.
The international community, as well as the Catholic Church, have been attentive to the case of Bishop Álvarez. According to the agenda of the European Parliament, a motion for a resolution will be voted on Thursday on the case of Monsignor Rolando Álvarez.
MEP Leopoldo López Gil said on his Twitter account that the human rights crisis in Nicaragua “continues to worsen, including the persecution of ecclesiastical authorities.”
“The regime has adopted a repressive policy against the Christian faith and expelled entire congregations,” lamented López Gil, who is part of the European People’s Party.
To this was added a statement by Pope Francis on August 21 in which he called for “an open and sincere dialogue” so that “the bases for a respectful and peaceful coexistence can be found.”
The Ortega administration has not spoken so far, neither in the face of the call of the highest leader of the Church, nor in the face of pressure from the international community.
Nor has Ortega agreed to seek a dialogue where the release of political prisoners is achieved.
The most recent attempt for a dialogue was carried out by the Colombian government without any success, said the foreign minister of that country, Álvaro Leyva in an interview with the Colombian outlet W Radio.
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