Through a resolution, this Thursday, June 15, the European Parliament requested the European Union to extend the sanctions against Nicaraguan judges and prosecutors and also include the dictator Daniel Ortega on that blacklist. Likewise, he demanded from the Sandinista administration a proof of life of Monsignor Rolando Álvarez, who has accumulated more than 300 days as a prisoner of the Nicaraguan regime.
“MEPs regret the continued instrumentalization of the judicial system and the complicity of judges with the regime. For this reason, they ask that the list of those sanctioned by the European Union be extended to judges and prosecutors, in addition to President Ortega himself and his circle closest to him, “reads the document issued by the Eurochamber.
The European Parliament also once again condemned the systematic and deliberate violations of human rights in Nicaragua, which constitute crimes against humanity. “The violations of human rights and the abuses perpetrated since April 2018 in Nicaragua are not an isolated phenomenon, but seek to dismantle the separation of powers and democratic guarantees and concentrate all power in the figures of the country’s president and vice president. “, he pointed.
They demand proof of life of Monsignor Álvarez
The MEPs also requested the Ortega y Murillo regime to provide proof of life of Monsignor Rolando Álvarez, who was last seen on March 25, 2023, in the only visit he has been allowed with his family. The Bishop of Matagalpa was sentenced to 26 years and four months in prison and the loss of nationality after refusing to be deported along with 222 other political prisoners.
They demanded from the Nicaraguan administration the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners, opponents, activists, members of the Catholic Church and journalists “arbitrarily detained, and sometimes imprisoned in unacceptable conditions.”
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They also condemned the deportation of 222 political prisoners, who were stripped of their nationality and their civil and political rights. “The European Parliament recalls that arbitrary deprivation of nationality is prohibited by international law and calls for the immediate revocation of these measures and an end to the persecution and reprisals against dissidents,” he added.
Ortega must render accounts before the ICJ
The European Parliament considers that Daniel Ortega must be held accountable before the International Court of Justice for the violation of the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
Therefore, MEPs believe that the summit between the EU and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) is an opportunity to defend the principles of the rule of law, democracy and human rights. They hope that a declaration will be made at said meeting in which due respect for human rights is demanded in both regions, particularly in Nicaragua.
On the other hand, the approved resolution calls for activating the democratic clause of the EU-Central America Association Agreement and encourages the EU and the Member States to include specific guarantees of respect for human rights with regard to the allocated European funds, as well when channeled through multilateral institutions such as the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI).
The document also urges Member States to initiate, based on the evidence collected by the UN Expert Group on Human Rightsformal investigations into crimes against humanity, exercising universal jurisdiction.
