Human rights defender Uriel Pineda and relatives of political prisoners point out that the more than 60 days without visits faced by the captive opponents in “El Chipote” could be part of a strategy by the regime to avoid complaints of torture before the next municipal elections. on the sixth of November.
«The visits of the relatives to the political prisoners, what allows is a flow of information regarding the conditions they face in the detention center and consequently, what is justified by the regime is to prevent the flow of information about this type of treatment. and torture. The flow of information is beginning to dominate the international human rights agenda, consequently it is negative publicity for the regime, which may explain the denial of family visits, which in any case means cutting off that information and preventing the news from spreading. beyond”, explained the expert in an interview with the Confidencial digital medium.
Related news: Political prisoners of “El Chipote” accumulate 63 days without visits
For her part, the wife of political prisoner Miguel Mendoza, Margin Pozo, told Article 66 that «when the visit was not given at the end of October, we were anticipating that they would be given until after November 6, it is really unfair because it is a right that they have to be in communication with their families and in the face of so many things one no longer don’t even know what to think. I don’t know if this was done so that we wouldn’t make a complaint about how they are in their physical and emotional conditions, I can imagine how Miguel is and surely he is thinner and anguished for the girl and her mother ».
«I can believe that this is part of a psychological torture that one is experiencing, and it is part of them feeling bad not having contact with their relatives that is so difficult. You can imagine that what a father wants is to have that communication with his children, not only Miguel, the rest of the political prisoners and mothers who are there, “added Pozo.
Sports journalist Miguel Mendoza has lost more than 30 pounds in prison and when he was presented in the Managua courts he was seen to be thin and his relatives denounced that he suffers from various illnesses that are not treated by a doctor. The journalist has not seen his daughter for 497 days, the dictatorship does not allow him to receive any type of written or video message from Alejandra, eight years old.
Related news: Political prisoners continue hunger strike to let them see their children
Mendoza, along with three other prisoners of conscience, are on a hunger strike so that the Ortega-Murillo regime allows them to see their minor sons and daughters, a situation that keeps their relatives concerned, since they do not know how they are currently with more than two months without being able to see them.
“My biggest concern with the hunger strike is that he will not resist, his health and life are at risk, he is a chronic patient, he is diabetic, he suffers from uric acid, now he is hypertensive being in that place, so not eating and not taking all the medicine he needs is what worries us because Miguel has lost more than 30 pounds and is probably skinnier now. I ask the man to give up this hunger strike because it is a sacrifice and it is a very great act of love from a father to a daughter, we value it very much, but we don’t want something to happen to Miguel either, “said the wife of the journalist.
According to the organization Sé Humano, of the 219 political prisoners in Nicaragua, 79 are being held in the Jorge Navarro Penitentiary System in Tipitapa, known as “La Modelo.” While 50 —including priests— are captive in “El Nuevo Chipote.” The other political prisoners are held captive in other prison systems in the country, whom Ortega shows no sign of wanting to release.
