Maximum restrictions by the Police at the service of the Daniel Ortega regime are suffered by the nine political prisoners who are currently under house arrest.
Sources on condition of anonymity revealed to Article 66 that the measures are extreme for prisoners of conscience even though they are at home. “The only thing they are at home, but from there everything is almost the same or worse because even family members have their rights violated,” the informant explained.
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It was denounced that among the violations of the rights of the hostages of conscience are disabling phone calls, cancellation of cable television service, surveillance even to go to the bathroom.
They point out that each political prisoner in a house jail has between four and five police officers “watching” 24 hours a day, who They demand to be fed three times a day. “Every day a police patrol arrives to leave food for the officers, but the agents demand that they be given food (in the prisoners’ homes) under the threat that if they don’t, they will report to El Chipote,” reported the source.
They add that when it is time to have breakfast, lunch or dinner, the Ortega Police officer who remains inside the house sits next to the political prisoner.
Surveillance even to go to the bathroom
Another of the complaints against the Ortega police is the harassment of the kidnapped opponents, since they persecute them when they go to the bathroom, to the patio, to the room, and even to have a coffee.
The same measures apply to the relatives of political hostages, since they are not allowed to listen to music or spend much time on their cell phones. “On one occasion, some relatives of one of the prisoners were listening to music in his room and an officer came to knock on the door threatening that he would send a report because that is prohibited,” denounced people close to the families of critics of the Ortega dictatorship. .
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As for medical attention, the Ortega regime prohibited them from being taken to a private clinic or for a doctor to treat them at their homes. The only option “if they want” is to go to “El Nuevo Chipote” to be treated by a general doctor.
“The relatives of the prisoners have preferred not to take them to El Chipote because of the poor medical care and the precarious situations that they are in their homes, but they do not have the right to adequate care, so they prefer to put up with it than go to die in hands of the police,” he said.
Faced with these acts of torture —as relatives of political prisoners describe it— a human rights defense attorney said on condition of anonymity that it is a serious violation of human rights, because it is prohibited to violate a person’s privacy, regardless that he is in jail at home.
“It is a serious violation because the law states that every prisoner for whatever reason has the right to adequate medical care and should not be blackmailed or coerced, but all these violations must be reported so that they do not go unpunished.” said the lawyer.
The dictatorship keeps the presidential candidate Cristiana Chamorro, the former diplomats, in prison Mauricio Diaz and Edgard Parrales and the former deputy Joseph Pallais.
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The director of the newspaper La Prensa and a member of the canceled Citizens for Freedom Party (CxL) are under the same regime. Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, former ambassador and presidential hopeful Arthur Cross, to the former deputy Maria Fernanda Flores, to the opponent Noel Vidaurre and the political commentator Jaime Arellano, most accused and convicted of alleged treason against the country.
The decision to change the prison regime came after the death of retired General Hugo Torres, who died in police custody. Article 66 tried to contact the relatives of the opponents, however it was impossible to establish communication.
