A group of relatives of political prisoners who remain locked up in the different jails of the country held a panel this Saturday in which, in addition to reiterating their demand for freedom, they reported, anonymously, the torture and serious human rights violations suffered by them. and his relatives deprived of liberty.
“We, the relatives of political prisoners, continue to demand the freedom of our sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, husbands and wives, beings we love, who for thinking differently are being subjected to unjust jail, accompanied by countless violations physical and psychological at the hands of their executioners, who are affecting their emotions and mental health “, indicates part of the statement released by the relatives.
They then shared some testimonies, related anonymously, about the situations experienced by their relatives deprived of liberty from the first day of detention.
“Esperanza”, mother of one of the political prisoners who has been unjustly imprisoned for three years, denounced that her son, since he was arrested, has suffered torture that has marked his entire body. He pointed out that the most recent event occurred on December 11 when he was hit.
“It is painful to express my pain, the moments that I have lived every day for three years, since my son was kidnapped, tortured, imprisoned, isolated, placed in a dungeon called 300,” said “Esperanza.”
He also demanded that “enough of so much evil, enough of doing so much to a defenseless person, enough of abuse, I think enough damage, too much damage has been done to our relatives. I beg, for the love of God, that enough is enough, that you do not continue to harm my son. “
“Que se vayan”, the wife of a political prisoner who is serving a five-year sentence in the Chinandega Prison, denounced that her partner is subjected to serious violations of their rights and torture on a daily basis.
“On multiple occasions he has been the victim of psychological abuse, which has caused him a chronic disease, now he is hypertensive as a result of prison stress,” he denounced.
She points out that her husband is photographed three times a day by prison officials, each time he must go to collect the food provided by the System, known as “La Chupeta.” He is “constantly” transferred from a cell, has been beaten by common criminals, and is then sent to punishment cells for up to a month.
She also said she was concerned that her relative has lost weight, his hair is falling out, he has allergies and fungi on his skin and he does not receive the necessary care for his conditions.
History repeats itself in the case related by “Dignidad”, the sister of an inmate of conscience imprisoned in the cells of La Modelo, who assures that his relative is constantly transferred from galleries, without the right to take his personal belongings, his food or his hammock.
He complains that his brother has also received psychological abuse from prison officials. “They tell him that he is a criminal, that he is a murderer, that he is going to stay there in the Penitentiary System, that he is never going to leave and then they deny my mother the medication pass,” he said.
He added that his relative “has been in poor health, with high blood pressure, is hypertensive, has kidney problems, has had heart problems, two days ago he had problems with high blood pressure, 150 out of 100, and even so the Penitentiary System refuses to remove him so that they are controlling the pressure ”.
He also indicated that as family members they are subjected to serious abuse when they visit their imprisoned relatives. Adults are searched to the point of handling and minors are also forced to “see what they have inside.” “Children suffer terrible abuse,” he denounced.
Regime applies more than 38 torture methods
The lawyer and researcher Martha Molina participated in the panel made by the relatives of the political prisoners and indicated that she will work on a second part of her investigation, where she reveals 38 torture methods carried out by the Ortega-Murillo regime against political prisoners, because after hearing the Testimony of some of the participants noted that some have not been included.
“I have also noted some (torture methods) that unfortunately are not included in the study that I prepared, but from the beginning I have said that it is not a closed list, because there could be more than 38 and as this regime continues in force in Nicaragua we are going to see these types of torture increase, “he said.
At the end of last year, the specialist disclosed her research on 38 torture methods that the Ortega regime has carried out against political prisoners, including common criminals, based on the testimonies released in the media and those offered to national and international organizations.
Among the physical torture methods included in Molina’s investigation are: suffocation with plastic bags, sleeping in places with human waste and insects, shedding of nails, burns with stun guns or cigarettes, use of barbed wire, beatings with fists and tubes, strangulation attempts, insertion of objects into the anus, rape and induction of abortion.
Also loosening of teeth, touching, stabbing, shaving the head, little water and food, little or no access to medicines or medical devices, lack of shelter, lights on permanently, unhealthy food, precarious access to hours of sun, forcing them to undress with threat of abuse, prolonged isolation, and permanence in underground, dark and damp cells.
The lawyer explains that “nowhere in our legislation is empowered the authorities of the country’s prison systems to commit acts of torture.”
He pointed out that, according to the provisions of the Penitentiary Regime Law, the torture methods that the relatives of political prisoners denounced during the panel reveal that there are at least 19 rights that violated prisoners of liberty have.
He indicated that his investigation, and the one that he would be preparing with an expansion of the 38 torture methods that he has included so far, intends to provide input for future legal processes in search of justice for all these people who continue to be unjustly imprisoned.
The Daniel Ortega regime, according to the registry of organizations of relatives of political prisoners, has so far more than 160 people unjustly imprisoned. Among them, more than 30 who are held in the cells of the Directorate of Judicial Aid, known as the “new Chipote”, who do not have access to regular visits.
