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Imprisoned politicians in Nicaragua begin indefinite hunger strike
Several Nicaraguan political prisoners began indefinite hunger strikes until the mistreatment and solitary confinement ceased and they were allowed to receive visits in the prison known as ‘El Chipote’. Donaldo Hernández prepared the report for us.
The opposition Roger Reyes fulfilled this Tuesday a week of strict liquid diet in the Evaristo Vázquez prison, better known as ‘el Chipote’, according to his wife Fernanda Guevara.
“The main demand is to see their daughters, we have two girls: one 5 years old and one 3 years old. The time of the strike is indefinite and I will not realize if he is still on strike until I see him again during the visit,” Guevara said in an interview with the voice of america.
In addition to Roger, sports journalist Miguel Mendoza and former Sandinista guerrilla fighter Dora María Téllez also joined the strike. Their demand is the end of the isolation they have been in for more than a year, according to their relatives and human rights organizations.
Fernanda Guevara denounced that “all the political prisoners who are in the Chipote jail, it is well known that their treatment is inhumane. Among these we see the case of solitary confinement where fathers and mothers are separated from their children, that is something extremely cruel”.
In the Jorge Navarro prison, known as “the model”, located in the city of Tipitapa, Managua, there are another 20 opponents on hunger strike, according to their relatives and the opposition National Blue and White Unit (UNAB).
“The political prisoners are on a hunger strike demanding their freedom. We hold Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo responsible for the physical integrity of all political prisoners in Nicaragua,” said Héctor Mairena, member of the UNAB political council.
Government authorities have not referred to the protest of the 23 political prisoners. Journalist and politician Miguel Mora fasted for several weeks and managed to get a visit from his disabled son.
