Relatives of the political prisoners of the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo demanded this Tuesday, November 15, “proof of life” from their relatives, since 81 days have passed, in the case of those detained since May 2021, and more than 60 days, in the case of those detained since September 2022, since the last time they were visited at the Directorate of Judicial Assistance, known as El Chipote. Since then, the authorities of the regime have not given them “any news” about them.
“We have been suffering and uncertain for more than two months; of not having any type of information regarding the health condition, access to medical attention and food of our relatives. Our oral requests for visits, as well as for information on the status and whereabouts of our relatives have been denied by the authorities of the Directorate of Judicial Assistance (DAJ) without any justification,” the relatives of the prisoners of conscience explained in a statement. press.
Faced with this situation, “we make an urgent call to the State of Nicaragua to allow us to see our relatives,” they emphasize. “We fear for their lives and for inhumane conditions in which they are supported, above all, by those who have declared a hunger strike”, the letter continues.
The harsh conditions of confinement in which prisoners of conscience find themselves require “proof of life” and “family members and specialized organizations are the only ones who can verify how and where they are.” Therefore, they “urgently” demand their admission and that of human rights organizations such as the International Red Cross and the United Nations Commission of Independent Experts to the El Chipote prison and the different prisons of the National Penitentiary System, to verify the situation. of all political prisoners.
Currently “we have no guarantee of proof of life, or of his state of health. To date, we are not even sure if they are in the same place where we last visited them”, they emphasize.
“We ask for the regularization of visits every 15 days as required by law, with the presence and participation of minor children or children with special needs; as well as access and regularization to telephone calls, video calls and correspondence such as photographs, drawings and letters, which include family members abroad,” the statement read.
Concern about reincarceration
The relatives of the prisoners of conscience also expressed their concern about the recent transfer to Chipote of the political prisoners Jose Adam Aguerri Y Francisco Aguirre Sacasawho were under the house by jail regime and were returned to jail without any explanation.
According to international standards, the prolonged incommunicado situation in which the regime’s political prisoners find themselves constitutes a torture mechanism, mainly because it causes severe psychological and emotional damage to those deprived of liberty and their families.
In accordance with Nicaraguan criminal law and current international human rights regulations, persons deprived of their liberty have the right to receive regular visits from their relatives, as well as access to healthy food, hygienic conditions and decent rest, reading material, medical attention, and other rights that have been denied to them since the moment of their illegal and arbitrary detention.
