Relatives of political prisoners continue to demand answers from state authorities about the state of health of their relatives, imprisoned in the “new Chipote.” They commented that the uncertainty is growing because the only way to corroborate the real state of prisoners of conscience is through visits, and they do not know when the next one will be.
More than a week ago they were denounced by the health conditions in which their relatives are and demand medical and psychological attention Independent.
Róger Reyes, a member of the Political Council of the Blue and White National Unity (UNAB), is going through a “very serious” situation locked up in a punishment cell, says his wife, Fernanda Guevara. During the visit, Reyes told her: “I don’t want to forget my daughters, I don’t want to forget you, I don’t want to forget who I am.”
Guevara had to describe his first daughter so that Reyes would remember her face, and he told him about his second baby, whom he hadn’t mentioned at all. He had forgotten her. “He was quite shocked, he was pale as a ghost,” after hearing her talk about her daughters, he said.
Reyes, who has been in a punishment cell for about a hundred days, began to notice that something was not working well in his mind and requested that they allow him a psychological consultation. As a form of pressure, he underwent a three-day hunger strike to provide specialized assistance. They told him that they would solve his case, but as of January 2 this had not happened.
“I am afraid that his situation will continue to worsen,” says Guevara, notably worried. This Monday, Reyes’ lawyer presented legal briefs as an emergency, in which they demanded that they allow him access to a psychologist, the presence of the International Red Cross and his release. On the other hand, Guevara always consults the policemen who receive them water in the “new Chipote”, but they do not provide him with information.
“So far we have no response, not at the paperwork level, not even a negative and not personal. There, at the reception, at the delivery of water, they never know anything”, Guevara said. Reyes also suffers from vision problems, insomnia, constipation. He has lost about 20 pounds, and his current weight is that of a teenager, about 116 pounds.
No response to elderly political prisoners
On January 4, the relatives assured that the lives of the political prisoners are still at “permanent risk”, and “the health of the elderly is in a critical situation.” In this regard, the wife of Dr. José Pallais, Jilma Herdocia, pointed out that they have not had any type of response.
“Absolutely nothing … the writings that have been entered have been entered periodically alleging their health situation, requesting a medical legal assessment, requesting the change of precautionary measure from prison to house to prison, however, none have had an answer,” he told CONFIDENTIAL .
Dr. Pallais is diabetic and suffers from high blood pressure. He also suffers from back pain, sleep apnea, has lost about 90 pounds, looks weak and has fainted twice.
His wife relates that Dr. Pallais “tries for us to see him better than he is, and we try to make him see us happier than we are to encourage each other. That is the reality,” he says. During the visit it was evident that it is difficult for him to get up and walk. Herdocia is anguished by the collateral damage to her husband’s health, caused by the drastic weight loss and especially by his chronic ailments.
He continues to demand their freedom because they are “unjustly kidnapped”, but as long as the State has him in its custody, “at least” they must provide them with the necessary human health conditions,” he asserted.
Likewise, the Nicaraguan University Alliance (AUN), which warned about the condition of the student leader, Lesther Alemán, who suffers from constant pain in his right leg, making it difficult for him to walk and sleep. They stated that at the end of last week they managed to get their family doctor to send a treatment with the prescription and it was received. However, “about having access to your clinical file or having an external doctor see it, we have not received a response.”
“We are still not sure of his diagnosis in a concrete way, so access to the clinical file or an external assessment, even from the Red Cross, continues to be a demand,” said AUN, who also regrets that Alemán spend his 24th birthday, this January 14, in conditions of arbitrary confinement.
“Pass them a blanket”
The relatives of political prisoners began this Wednesday, January 12, a campaign called “Pass them a blanket”, demanding that the Ortega regime allow the entry of blankets to most of the political prisoners detained in the “new Chipote”.
“The dictatorship in Nicaragua does not allow blankets or warm clothes to most of the political prisoners who are illegally kidnapped in El Chipote. Not having sheets and shelter to face the low temperatures at night is considered torture and violates the Mandela Rules,” they indicated.
Berta Valle, wife of the presidential candidate and political prisoner, Félix Maradiaga, pointed out that her relatives do not have anything to protect themselves from the cold. Some of the prisoners have even caught a cold and cannot sleep due to lack of clothing. The weight loss that most prisoners of conscience have experienced exposes them much more to these climatic conditions.
