Relatives of three of the 190 opponents imprisoned in the framework of the crisis that Nicaragua has been experiencing since April 2018 demanded that the government of President Daniel Ortega cease the “policy of extermination” against political prisoners, who, as they denounced, suffer a serious deterioration in their their health states.
“This policy of extermination must stop,” Victoria Cárdenas, wife of former opposition presidential candidate Juan Sebastián Chamorro, who has been imprisoned for 13 months along with other dissidents to the Sandinista government, demanded at a telematic press conference on July 7.
Cárdenas, who is in exile, showed a spoken portrait of Chamorro, based on the last visit made by her relatives, in which she sees “an extremely thin, fragile and deteriorated version” of her husband.
Related news: Relatives of political prisoners: “Let the unbearable incommunicado and solitary confinement cease”
“Enough of cruel, inhuman, degrading treatment of innocent and worthy people. I invite you to overcome indifference, ”she cried.
Cárdenas advocated the release of political prisoners or that “this unbearable incommunicado detention and solitary confinement of our families cease,” which, he said, “constitutes torture under international law.”
MORTAL RISK SITUATION
According to the testimonies of his relatives, Chamorro, like the other opponents who are imprisoned in a prison known as “Chipote”, in Managua, “sleep on concrete beds with a dirty and worn mattress, without pillows and most without blankets. ”.
“The cells are unsanitary, unventilated, humid, with lights on 24/7, or in total darkness. They have not had access to reading material, not even a Bible, paper or pencil,” he maintained.
He added that “the food is of poor quality and so lacking in nutrition that everyone has lost a great deal of weight.”
In addition, that “timely and specialized medical care is non-existent for people with chronic diseases or with new ailments, given the inhumane conditions in which they find themselves.”
“This puts their lives at risk every minute of the day,” he warned.
“DEHUMANIZE AND WEAR DOWN” PRISONERS
For Renata Holmann, daughter of the general manager of the Nicaraguan newspaper La Prensa, Juan Lorenzo Holmann, “the dictatorship seeks to completely dehumanize and wear down” political prisoners.
“I am extremely distressed by this situation. We do not want them to continue to hand over our dead relatives or send us home to jail when the health damage is irreversible, ”she indicated.
He considered that the conditions in which the detainees are found is “alarming”, for which he demanded that “their rights be respected and the prisons be opened.”
Holmann also submitted a spoken portrait of his father based on a description made to a graphic designer by his mother and sister after visiting him.
“My sister met an extremely thin, weak, pale and convalescent person, and when she hugged him she felt every bone in her body,” she said.
The young woman said that the general manager of La Prensa underwent heart surgery three months before being imprisoned, in August 2021, he suffers from high blood pressure, prostate and has vision problems, and that in prison he has developed “ hernia and fungus in the hands and skin”, and has suffered a stomach infection.
“They are being killed little by little, day by day,” Holmann denounced, stating that “despite the serious physical deterioration that has left them unrecognizable to their relatives, they maintain their character, conviction and commitment to Nicaragua.”
“STOP THIS LEVEL OF TORTURE AND CRUELTY”
For her part, Berta Valle, wife of former opposition presidential candidate Félix Maradiaga, imprisoned 13 months ago, said they fear for the lives of the detainees.
“I want to raise my voice again to cry out for you to help us stop this level of torture and cruelty against political prisoners in Nicaragua,” he advocated.
“We as families are suffering from this level of cruelty,” he added.
According to Valle, Maradiaga told his relatives that the situation in which they find themselves “is unsustainable”, among which he mentioned solitary confinement and isolation.
“He described it like this: that they were being turned off” in prison, Valle continued, which is why Maradiaga had announced that he was going on a hunger strike.
“Under these conditions in which they are, it is very dangerous (a hunger strike) and threatens their life and that of any of the political prisoners,” he reasoned.
After a year of incarceration, in Valle’s opinion, the political prisoners “are dying little by little.”
Juan Pappier, senior researcher at the Americas Division of Human Rights Watch, said that Nicaragua is experiencing a human rights crisis and called on the international community to put more pressure on the Ortega regime.
