The Mesoamerican Initiative of Women Human Rights Defenders (IM-Defensoras) presented an account of human rights violations in Nicaragua. In the report, they denounce the imprisonment of 13 defenders, stating that Daniel Ortega’s regime has criminalized them for their fight for “a more just and equal country.”
“Among them there are lawyers, journalists, feminists and human rights defenders. They are being sentenced to sentences ranging from 8 to 18 years in prison. Many of them have been criminalized through laws such as the “Sovereignty Law” and the “Cybercrime Law”, created or used to suppress critical voices. Others have been fabricated crimes related to drug trafficking, possession of weapons or tax matters, “says the agency.
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Faced with this situation, they reject that the country’s women cannot exercise their right to free movement “due to the government’s systematic prohibition and repression.” The organization registered on March 8, International Women’s Day, at least 7 acts of police and parapolice harassment against 13 defenders, 2 of them have measures from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).
The organization has been concerned about “the captivity to which Esperanza Sánchez, Karla Escobar, Julia Hernández, Cristiana Chamorro, Violeta Granera, Tamara Dávila, Suyen Barahona, Dora María Téllez, Ana Margarita Vijil, Fernanda Flores, María Oviedo, Nidia Barbosa, Evelyn Pinto and Samantha Jiron. 14 women among the more than 170 people imprisoned for thinking and exercising their right to freedom of thought, organization and expression and demanding justice.
They add that “the normalization of harassment against Nicaraguan defenders is of concern. These attacks have serious impacts on their lives and their families, among other damages they mean not being able to leave their homes to work, go to school or shop; aggravating the emotional impact they have been experiencing for years.
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In turn, they recall the outlawing of the feminist organization Colectivo 8 de Marzo along with 25 other organizations on March 17, when the Sandinista steamroller in the National Assembly decided to cancel their legal status. In the last five years, the organization had provided support to approximately 10,800 women and 934 girl survivors of violence and femicide, and has provided sexual and reproductive health services to at least 26,600 women and young people.
«In the context of a country where sexist and femicide violence is incessant and where racist policies of extractivism and neoliberal dispossession prevail, the cancellation of these organizations is a serious blow to women and indigenous and black communities in the country, leaving to these populations in a situation of greater vulnerability”, denounce the women defenders.
