Relatives of political prisoners fear that Daniel Ortega’s furious speech in which he called “Sons of bitches of the Yankee imperialists“To prisoners of conscience, give grounds for police and prison officials to carry out” acts of political revenge “against detainees, family members or any dissenting voice.
“Referring to political adversaries as ‘sons of bitches’ and stateless persons seems to have the objective of deepening the dehumanization of people who are imprisoned without respect for their fundamental rights and freedoms and without due publicity of the judicial process,” the relatives denounced in a statement. Likewise, they feel outraged and concerned by the words full of “hatred, perversity and misogyny”, pronounced by Ortega.
More than 160 political prisoners are incarcerated in the Evaristo Vásquez police complex, known as “the new Chipote” and the National Penitentiary System. The last 39 prisoners of conscience were detained since the end of last May, prior to the general elections that assured Ortega a fourth consecutive term.
In Nicaragua there are more than 160 political prisoners, and in the last three days at least 20 other people were added, “whose whereabouts are unknown,” the relatives denounced in the statement. At the same time, they indicate that the detainees remain in prison arbitrarily, without respect for due process, without access to the legal defense of their choice, without authorization of family visits, or delivery of food, medicine or clothing and in subhuman conditions that seriously deteriorate your physical health.
Celebrate with insults
The Sandinista caudillo celebrated this Monday together with his wife and vice president, Rosario Murillo, and the Nicaraguan police and Army leadership, his continuity in power, as a result of an electoral process labeled a “farce” and “circus”, and that it has been unknown by more than 40 countries.
During his speech, focused on haranguing the international community, Ortega pointed out that “just as President (Franklin D.) Roosevelt said that Somoza is a son of a bitch, but that he was our son of a bitch, that is, those who are imprisoned there, they are the sons of bitches of the Yankee imperialists. They should be taken to the United States, because those are not Nicaraguans, they have no country, so that there they serve for what they are, slaves of the empire, traitors of the country, ”Ortega shouted.
Family members, concerned about the consequences of Ortega’s words, recalled the death of political prisoner Eddy Montes, killed by “a public employee who felt authorized to shoot to kill”, on May 16, 2019 in La Modelo prison.
To date, the death of Montes remains in impunity. “This death, like many others, has not been the subject of any kind of investigation, despite the demands of the family and the international community,” they said.
Statement of the relatives of Political Prisoners of Nicaragua. pic.twitter.com/6VHyo5hcCk
– Berta Valle (@bertavalle) November 9, 2021
In the statement, the relatives consider that Ortega’s words “are not acceptable in the mouth of a political authority” and express to the Nicaraguan people and the international community their concern about the “possible consequences that this speech may have on life and integrity. of our relatives and on the socio-political climate of the country ”, they express.
“We call on the national and international community to remain attentive to the serious consequences that the terrible and degrading expressions of Ortega could bring.”
In previous months, the relatives denounced that the political prisoners in the “nuevo Chipote” are victims of torture. They warned about the “physical deterioration”, evident in the “extreme and accelerated loss of weight”, between 12 and 36 pounds. Likewise, many do not have access to sun “baths” and have been subjected to to exhaustive questioning.
