Within the framework of the commemoration of the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, Nicaraguan and international human rights organizations expressed their deep concern over the continuation of the serious human rights violations perpetrated by the Daniel Ortega dictatorship against the citizens of Nicaragua. .
Through a releasethe entities highlighted that since 2019 the Nunca Más Nicaragua Collective, through the Nicaraguan Observatory against Torture, has documented 158 cases of torture, which includes 130 men, 28 women and two minors.
“This situation was also made visible before the United Nations Committee Against Torture in the second periodic review carried out in Nicaragua, within the framework of which international and Nicaraguan organizations reported the State’s failure to comply with the international obligations,” they said. .
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“The Committee Against Torture, which in its Final Observations reports on the lack of sufficient guarantees regarding the conditions of imprisonment for persons deprived of liberty, judicial independence, and independent investigations in cases of torture and ill-treatment. Similarly, the Group of Experts on Human Rights on Nicaragua documented the existence of crimes of torture in the framework of the investigations carried out, which included physical and psychological abuse,” they added.
On the other hand, human rights organizations regretted that mistreatment and torture continue against Nicaraguans, especially against political prisoners in Nicaragua.
They denounced that “in May of this year, at least 63 people were reported to have been arbitrarily detained and charged with crimes of treason against the homeland. In addition, psychological and physical abuse against detainees was reported, as well as “temporary” disappearances, which implied situations of incommunicado detention, without access to lawyers, family, or medical care. Without guaranteeing in this way, the rights of the detainees.”
In this sense, the organizations rejected “the actions of repression” used by the Ortega regime, especially those “acts of torture or mistreatment that imply an offense against the dignity of people.”
They also demanded that the Sandinista administration “respond to its international obligations” to guarantee access to justice for victims of torture and prevent the repetition of these acts.
“The international community must continue to monitor, investigate and make all kinds of efforts to promote the end of any practice of torture and/or ill-treatment towards the Nicaraguan population, especially regarding defenders, opponents of the government or perceived as such” , they underlined.
The signatory organizations are the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), Civicus Alliance, Colectivo Nicaragua Nunca Más, Foundation for Due Process (DPLF), World Organization Against Torture (OMCT), International Network for Human Rights (RIDH ), American Jewish World Service (AJWS) and Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA).
