Within the framework of the Summit between the European Union and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), human rights defenders from Nicaragua and Cuba have proposed Monsignor Rolando Álvarez, Bishop of the Diocese of Matagalpa, as a candidate for the Sarajov Prize . This prestigious award, bestowed by the European Parliament (EP), recognizes those who defend freedom of conscience.
The nomination of the Catholic leader, who has accumulated more than 320 days in prison, is recognition of his outstanding work and commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights.
In a video posted on Twitter, the opposition Haydee Castillo has urged the EP to award the Sarajov prize to Bishop Álvarez “for being a symbol of the struggle for the liberation of our peoples, for democracy and for freedom of conscience.”
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“We call on all personalities to join this invitation so that the European Parliament can make this beautiful recognition of his work that Monsignor Álvarez is doing from prison in Nicaragua,” added Castillo.
Likewise, the Cuban activist Yaxys Cires He stated that the Nicaraguan Catholic leader is a “reference” both for Christians who are persecuted in many parts of the world and for fighters for the freedoms and human rights of the peoples of Latin America.
The Bishop of Matagalpa is one of the most critical voices against the dictatorship of Ortega and Murillo, the binomial that controls the strings of power in Nicaragua, a country mired in a sociopolitical, economic and human rights crisis since 2018.
The religious leader has been locked up in the “La Modelo” prison in Tipitapa since February 9, the date on which he refused to be exiled, along with 222 other former political prisoners, to the United States. This Tuesday he turns 333 days as a prisoner of conscience.
It was recently learned that the Ortega dictatorship is holding Monsignor Álvarez in cell 19 of module 3-1 of the maximum security space of the men’s prison in Managua.
The only visit the bishop has received was on Saturday, March 25, when the Ortega Murillo dictatorship allowed the visit of his two brothers and exhibited him in photographs and videos through its propaganda media.
