The Inter-American Court of Human Rights, based in Costa Rica, ordered this Thursday the State of Nicaragua to release Bishop Rolando José Álvarez Lagos, a critic of President Daniel Ortega and sentenced to 26 years in prison, after refusing to leave the country.
“The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has notified the State of Nicaragua today of the Provisional Measures Resolution adopted in favor of Monsignor Rolando José Álvarez Lagos, Bishop of Matagalpa, in which he ordered his immediate release,” it indicates. the text of the Inter-American Court.
Álvarez was sentenced to 26 years in prison in February, and stripped of his nationality for the alleged crimes of treason, obstruction of functions, aggravated disobedience to the detriment of Nicaraguan society and dissemination of false news.
The resolution found that, with the arrest of Monsignor Álvarez Lagos, a series of risk factors are configured that require the adoption of Provisional Measures.
“He is in a serious situation,” the resolution added, indicating that he could have “irreparable damage to his life, health, and personal integrity.”
The priest is in the prison known as La Modelo, in Managua, and since then he has only been able to be seen publicly once since February.
The Inter-American Court affirms that his condition and the measures adopted by the Nicaraguan justice “place” the Bishop of Matagalpa “in a situation of extreme vulnerability.”
What else does the Inter-American Court ask for?
In addition to requiring the State of Nicaragua to immediately proceed with the release of Monsignor Rolando José Álvarez Lagos, the Inter-American Court demands the “adoption of measures to effectively protect his life, health, and personal integrity.”
The agency demands that while the necessary administrative procedures for the immediate release take place, the Nicaraguan government must proceed “to guarantee dignified treatment through immediate access to health services, medicines and adequate food, as well as to facilitate their contact with relatives and lawyers”.
The text also indicates that “this order may not be used to delay the release of the beneficiary.”
The Court granted a period until July 7, 2023 for the State of Nicaragua to inform it about the situation of the bishop sentenced to a long prison sentence.
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