The Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (Cenidh) sent an “urgent alert” in the face of the confinement imposed from August 4 to Monsignor Rolando Alvarez in the episcopal curia of Matagalpa.
The organization pointed out that the prelate and other people held in the place are “in imminent danger” of losing their lives, security, freedom and personal integrity. The Cenidh denounced that there is “certainty that perverse and concrete actions are being promoted” against those detained.
Related news: Open Ballot Boxes denounces “silence and secrecy” on the part of the CSE ahead of the municipal elections
The Venezuelan journalist specializing in religious issues, Rixio Portillo, stated that the supposed “silence” of Pope Francis on the crisis in Nicaragua is the responsibility of the Archbishop of Managua, Leopoldo Brenes, for not correctly informing the Vatican about the situation in the country.
In an opinion article, Portillo added that it would be unfair that “it would be unfair to label Pope Francis or the Holy See as complicit with the Daniel Ortega regime because if there have been silences and declarations, they have responded to the Pope’s intentions with the cardinals, who are his direct advisers”, among whom is Brenes.
The Council of the European Union could adopt new measures against the Nicaraguan regime, due to the increase in government persecution against the Catholic Church.
The Council will review, on October 15, the sanctions imposed in January against officials and institutions of the Daniel Ortega administration; In this regard, Peter Stano, spokesman for the European Union Foreign Service, told the Despacho 505 media outlet that “they continue to monitor the situation and will react as appropriate.”
Relatives of the political prisoner Suyen Barahona released a spoken portrait of the activist that reflects her physical exhaustion after spending more than a year captive in the Directorate of Judicial Assistance, known as “El Nuevo Chipote.”
The president of the organization Unión Democrática Renovadora (Unamos) looks very thin, pale and aged. Through a video of her, her relatives denounced that the opponent «remains in a solitary cell, she is not allowed to speak or socialize or receive sunlight for more than a few minutes.
Books, pencil and paper are prohibited; calls and letters. Barahona is also arbitrarily prohibited from communicating with her child.
The journalist’s defense Michael Mora He filed a request for a “special visit” with the political prisoner before the Court of Appeals, Penal Chamber One of Managua, so that he can meet with his son, Miguel Alejandro Mora Chávez, 22, who has a motor disability.
Father and son have not communicated for more than 400 days, due to the solitary confinement to which the journalist is subjected in the “El Nuevo Chipote” prison.
The defense asked the judicial authorities to comply with the laws that support the request or to show “a gesture of humanity, solidarity and Christian charity” in the face of family separation.
Related news: Horsemen’s Association cancels horse parade in Managua on August 10
The Organization of American States (OAS) called an extraordinary session for Friday, August 12 to discuss the situation in Nicaragua.
The permanent missions of Antigua and Barbuda, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, the United States, Peru, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay asked the Chair of the Permanent Council to make the call, in a context of persecution of the Catholic Church and the closure of spaces to civil society.
The draft resolution “strongly condemns” the cancellation of NGOs, harassment and arbitrary restrictions imposed on religious organizations. The request was submitted on August 5, the date on which the regime imposed de facto house arrest on Monsignor Rolando Álvarez.
