Relatives of 35 other Nicaraguan political prisoners have demanded that the Ortega regime release them immediately

The relatives of 35 Nicaraguan opponents who have not been released as well as the 222 prisoners expelled last week by the daniel ortega diet A UNITED STATES they asked their “immediate launch”.

Through a statement, the relatives denounced that the prisoners of Ortega are detained in six penitentiary centers “in degrading conditions“and where are they”subjected to torture and ill-treatment”, They are deprived of medical care and subjected to violent searches and threats.

On February 9, Ortega is released from prison 222 opponents and kicked them out of the country on a plane that UNITED STATES sent for transfer. Among them were seven former presidential candidates, businessmen, student and peasant leaders, journalists, lawyers and human rights defenders.

Soon after, the Sandinista dictatorship stripped the liberated of their Nicaraguan citizenship. Analysts, legal experts and human rights groups have described him as a violation of international law unprecedented, at least in western hemisphere.

Although they celebrated his release, relatives of the 35 political prisoners they asked “the International communityto human rights organizations and governments friendly to the Nicaraguan people to support us in their release”.

Among those who were not deported were three religious: the Catholic bishop Rolando Alvarezwho according to Ortega refused to be exiled and was sent to the Modelo prison in Managua, and the priests Leonardo Urbina and Manuel Salvador Garciaconvicted of having sex crimes there assault on a womanrespectively.

Relatives of the 35 political prisoners say they do not know the reasons for their exclusion from the list of those released. Two relatives, who identified themselves only as Luisa and Emilia for fear of government reprisals, believe there has been ‘ruthlessness’ against them.

Of the 35 prisoners, 10 have been jailed since before protests that erupted in April 2018said another parent identified as Lolita. Among the latter, he cited the case of the former soldier Marvin Vargas, aka “The Cub Scout”an opponent of Ortega who has 12 years in prison.

Nicaragua has been going through a serious political crisis since the social uprising of 2018 which was suppressed by police and paramilitaries with balance 355 deadmore than 2,000 injured, 1,600 detainees and over 100,000 exilesaccording to human rights organizations.

Opposition lawyer José Urbina Lara is in a maximum security cell in Modelo prison and You are not allowed to enter food or medicinewhile Eliseo de Jesús Castro, imprisoned since 2019, “is bedridden in a hospital and without communication with the family”, said another of the plaintiffs.

viewed by The Associated Pressopposition activist Ivania Alvarezmember of the Support group for relatives of female prisoners and political prisonersfelt that the government had not released all the prisoners because “Ortega still stays with prisoners to continue negotiating”.

Álvarez confirmed that some of the 35 are convicted of common crimes such as arms and drug trafficking. However, he said several people with similar sentences were released on February 9.

He pointed out that four detainees who were on the initial list did not travel because they were rejected by the state department, including Jaime Navarrete, who was expelled from the United States in 2006, and Eliseo de Jesús Castro, whose state of health “is serious”. He said he had no information on the other two.

Meanwhile, the Chilean Foreign Minister Antonia Urrejola advocates the release of the 35 opponents and expresses his government’s concern at the sentencing of 26 years in prison imposed on Bishop Álvarez after refusing to accept exile.

“We continue to be extremely concerned because there are still political prisoners in Nicaragua” and “very concerned about the situation of Monsignor Álvarez”, who was sentenced “in record time, without the right to due process and without access to his lawyers. Urrejola told a Chilean radio station. .

The Chilean Minister of Foreign Affairs in turn indicated that she feared that the 222 expelled “have had their nationality and all their civil and political rights withdrawn” and added that the government of Gabriel Boric will continue “to monitor and maintain the strong voice that we maintained.” on the situation in Nicaragua.

(With information from The Associated Press)

Continue reading: