The police of the dictatorship forced their way into the Infant Jesus of Prague chapel, of the Jesus of Divine Mercy Parish in Sébaco, where Radio Católica also operates, one of the seven stations of the Diocese of Matagalpa, which the Nicaraguan Institute of Telecomunicaciones y Correos (Telcor) closed this Monday, August 1, in an assault aimed at silencing the media outlet.
The priest Uriel Vallejos, who remains in the parish house of the temple under police occupation in Sébaco, related to CONFIDENTIAL that a Telcor worker arrived this Monday afternoon to notify him of the station’s closure and wanted to access its equipment, but he would not let her. The woman left and returned with a patrol, police, riot police and paramilitaries.
The officers violated the locks on the chapel and at nightfall they broke the roof to enter the offices where the media’s teams are located. At the same time, they launched tear gas to disperse the population that had come to the Church to prevent state theft.
“There is one wounded,” said Father Vallejos, but he had no further information. Around 8:00 pm, the priest reported that his electricity service had been cut off. “We are in the dark, they have cut off the power of the priest’s house, ”he expressed through Twitter.
We are in the dark, they have cut off the electricity in the curl house. pic.twitter.com/OZQF1upmcJ
– Pbro Uriel Vallejos (@pbrourielv) August 2, 2022
In a live broadcast, one of the parishioners assured that the Police fired into the air and launched tear gas canisters at the population outside the parish.
Around 5:00 pm this Monday, Father Uriel Vallejos, along with other Catholic faithful locked up in the parish, denounced that the temple was surrounded by riot police and called on the population to join in defending the teams, which are of the Christian people.
“I am in the parish house, here I am. They continue to violate, they are inside, in the chapel. Here we are,” said the priest.
Come faithful friends, I am being besieged; The police have violated the padlocks of the Chapel to enter where the teams are to take him away. The police are attacking the faithful who are inside the school. pic.twitter.com/RdDZ5IdizL
– Pbro Uriel Vallejos (@pbrourielv) August 2, 2022
“Don’t leave me alone because here are these people -the Police-. He walks like a rabid dog.” “Let all the people of Sébaco come. Let’s not be cowards ”the father was heard through a live broadcast from the Sébaco Catholic Channel when he started everything. Meanwhile, the population continued to arrive at the church, the bells did not stop ringing.
Priest Vallejos believes that the regime’s action against the Church is because they fear the prophetic voice of the Church in denouncing injustices. They seek to silence the Church, specifically, “us the priests and they know that the people always listen to the voice of their pastors.”
“That is what they intend, to close everything, so that there is no complaint of the injustices, of the abuses of human rights that they have every day,” he said. The priest sent a message to the population to pray, to have confidence in the Lord, to avoid falling into provocation. That the only thing they seek, as pastors, is for there to be peace, freedom and respect for human rights in this country.
Álvarez summons the regime to recognize injustices
Monsignor Rolando Álvarez, bishop of the Diocese of Matagalpa and administrator of the Diocese of Estelí, confirmed that Telcor closed the seven Catholic stations in the north under the alleged argument of not having the necessary permits. However, he clarified that he had submitted all the required documentation since 2016, but “we never received answers as is already the custom of the Government in some and many other cases,” he said.
“I’ve never had a problem admitting my mistakes and they know it. But I will not accept errors and injustices that they want to give us when they are their accounts, they know it very well and they know that if I make mistakes, I admit it, but in the meantime, let them accept their injustices.
“All our radios have been closed. But the Word of God, they will not silence it,” Bishop Álvarez said on his Twitter account.
“All our radios have been closed. But the Word of God, they will not silence it”. Bishop Rolando José.
– Monsignor Rolando José Alvarez L. (@DiocesisdeMat) August 2, 2022
The violent incursion of the authorities was rejected by human rights organizations such as the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OACNUDH), as well as at the local level by the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH) and the secretary General of the Organization of American States, Luis Almagro.
OHCHR calls for an end to abuse
The OHCHR said, through a tweet, that they were informed about “the violent action” by the police, for which they demanded the immediate cessation of this outrage.
The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, urged the Daniel Ortega regime “to cease attacks against religious freedom, freedom of expression and respect the life and integrity of Nicaraguans,” in the face of the outrages and violence in Sébaco, he pointed out on his Twitter account.
Faced with outrage and violence in Sébaco, Matagalpa, we urge the regime to #Nicaragua to cease attacks against religious freedom, freedom of expression and respect the life and integrity of [email protected] Nicaraguans. https://t.co/1B7zS16zm7
— Luis Almagro (@Almagro_OEA2015) August 2, 2022
For its part, the CENIDH demanded that the personal integrity and life of religious, parishioners and journalists who were inside the chapel be respected.
The Ortega regime has maintained a frontal attack against the Church since 2018, when the institution denounced human rights violations against the people of Nicaragua. This year, mainly, the regime intensified its fury against the prelates, subjecting them to more acts of harassment and persecution.
This Monday, the dictatorship intensified the persecution with the closure of the media in the Diocese of Estelí, the assault on Radio Católica and the violent incursion of police forces into the Jesús de la Divina Misericordia Parish in Sébaco, while they attacked the population .
In May and June, the regime increased police harassment against Monsignor Álvarez, who had to take refuge in a temple in Managua, and was also surrounded by riot police. Meanwhile, in Masaya, Father Harving Padilla could not leave his parish of San Juan Bautista due to threats of imprisonment. Both priests were helped by other pastors.
