The Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) warned this Wednesday about the deteriorating health status of six journalists sentenced in Nicaragua for up to 13 years in prison and demanded their “immediate release” from the Government of Daniel Ortega, whom they held responsible for what could happen to them. happen.
They are prisoners of conscience, sentenced in summary trials, without due process and for non-existent crimes, the IAPA said in a statement asking the international community to “close ranks” in defense of Miguel Mora, Miguel Mendoza, Jaime Arellano, Cristiana Chamorro, Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, and Juan Lorenzo Holmann.
The president of the IAPA, Jorge Canahuati, and the president of the Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information, Carlos Jornet, blamed the government of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo for the deteriorating health of journalists.
“We make them responsible before the international community for what could happen to them, both to them and to the rest of the political prisoners,” they stressed in the statement.
Canahuati and Jornet urged press associations, multilateral organizations and a group of Latin American ambassadors to the OAS, called Friends of Freedom of Expression and Journalism, “to keep the case of Nicaragua on the public agenda to show solidarity with journalists Nicaraguans and their families, and demand their release.”
To the same end, the Miami-based press association of the continent asks its partners to publish the profiles it has prepared on the six Nicaraguan journalists on the networks.
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The review of Miguel Mora, 56, says that he was sentenced to 13 years in prison for undermining national integrity and is imprisoned in the Directorate of Judicial Assistance (DAJ), where torture, abuse, degrading treatment and other human rights violations.
He has been imprisoned since June 20, 2021. He has lost more than 30 pounds (13 kilos) in weight and is denied the right to communicate with his son and access to a Bible.
Regarding Miguel Mendoza, 51, the IAPA indicates that he was arrested on June 21, 2021, sentenced to nine years in prison and is imprisoned in a DAJ cell, known as El Nuevo Chipote, in “deplorable conditions” with Juan Lawrence Holmann.
“The walls are moldy, they don’t have a window, they keep the light on 24 hours a day and they are only allowed to go out to the patio once a week,” he stresses.
Under house arrest since June 24, 2021, Jaime Arellano, 61 years old and with problems of obesity, circulation and high blood pressure, was sentenced to 13 years in prison for conspiracy to undermine, spread false news, through technology of information and communication.
Cristiana Chamorro, 67, was sentenced to 8 years of house arrest, a sentence she has been serving in complete incommunicado detention and absolute restriction since June 2, 2021, adds the IAPA.
He was accused of abusive management, ideological falsehood, improper appropriation and retention, and laundering of money, goods and assets.
Pedro Joaquín Chamorro, 70, was sentenced to nine years in prison for abusive management, appropriation and improper retention.
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From his arrest on June 25, 2021 to May 1, 2022, he was imprisoned in the new Chipote. Due to his deteriorating health, he was ordered to serve his sentence under house arrest. He lost more than 30 pounds (13 kilos) in weight and has problems with his ears.
Juan Lorenzo Holmann, 55, was sentenced to nine years in prison for money laundering, and is a prisoner in the new Chipote.
The IAPA stresses that after being arrested on August 14, 2021, he was prevented from visiting his lawyer and the hearings against him were held in secret. He suffers from high blood pressure, has vision problems and had a heart operation last year and his condition has not been checked regularly due to incarceration.
Nicaragua will be one of the main topics of the IAPA General Assembly that will take place in the capital of Spain, from October 27 to 30.
