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MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) International criticism of the Nicaraguan government intensified on Tuesday after another night of arrests in Managua. Fifty-nine countries at the United Nations Human Rights Council have signed a declaration expressing concern over arbitrary arrests and restriction of basic rights.
“The government must ensure the protection of human rights and bring those responsible to justice,” the statement said.
Also on Tuesday, the international organization Human Rights Watch released a report detailing the politically motivated arrests in recent weeks of nearly 20 potential political candidates, prominent businessmen, former government officials and political leaders. .
The organization called on the United Nations Security Council to invoke Article 99 of its charter “to raise this issue in the UN Security Council and present it as a growing crisis involving serious human rights violations, which could undermine stability in the region ”.
Daniel Ortega is running for a fourth consecutive term as president and systematically clears the way for potential challengers by making arrests for alleged crimes against the state. The government had already considerably reduced the public space for opposition to maneuver through repressive laws and intimidation.
“The high-profile arrests and other serious human rights violations against critics appear to be part of a broader strategy to eliminate political competition, stifle dissent and pave the way for the re-election of President Daniel Ortega for a fourth consecutive term, ”Human Rights Watch mentioned.
On Monday evening, Nicaraguan police announced that they had placed former first lady Mara Fernanda Flores Lanzas, wife of former President Arnoldo Aleman, under house arrest for alleged crimes against the state.
There was no mention of Aleman or his whereabouts. The police statement said she would remain under surveillance while the allegations against her are investigated.
Also on Monday, sports journalist Miguel Mendoza was arrested and journalist Carlos Fernando Chamorro, son of former president Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, said via Twitter that police raided his home. He demanded that they respect the welfare of his sister-in-law and other people with her.
“They will not be able to silence journalism,” he wrote. Police raided the offices of its online media Confidencial in May and the government seized the media’s former offices in December 2018.
Earlier, Nicaraguan writer and former Vice President Sergio Ramrez said there was no chance of free and fair elections in Nicaragua and that the opposition should refuse to participate in the vote which would only legitimize the victory of Ortega.
Last week, most members of the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States condemned the actions of the Nicaraguan government and called for the immediate release of political prisoners. On Monday, Argentina and Mexico, two countries which abstained from the vote, recalled their Nicaraguan ambassadors for consultation on developments.
The US Treasury Department this month imposed sanctions on Ortega’s daughter and a senior military official, as well as several other close to the president.
Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Denis Moncada said in an interview with Venezuelan television that Nicaragua was nobody’s colony and would not accept any foreign interference. He said those arrested in recent days were not presidential candidates, but rather “leaders of non-governmental organizations that receive funding from the United States and the European Union and intend to destabilize the country “.
“The severity and escalation of the Ortega government’s brutal crackdown on critics and opposition members in recent weeks requires increased international pressure,” said Jos Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch.
The organization’s report noted that more than 108,000 Nicaraguans have fled the country since the street protests began in April 2018 and have been violently suppressed by the government. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights found that 328 people had been killed and some 2,000 injured. Ortega argued that the protests were a foreign-backed coup attempt.
Most of the arrests in recent weeks were linked to allegations that opposition figures had accepted foreign funding for activities against the government.
Even before the latest crackdown, more than 100 political prisoners were already jailed in Nicaragua, according to the report, documenting three cases of women who suffered assault and sexual assault while in prison.
During the preparation of the report, Human Rights Watch interviewed 53 people in Nicaragua, including 46 activists, lawyers, journalists, human rights defenders and opposition figures who were victims of harassment or arbitrary detention. He said the government had not responded to his request for information on these cases.
Government targets frequently report that police vehicles parked outside their homes prevent them from leaving.
“There is virtually no chance that Nicaraguans will be able to exercise their fundamental rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association, or to vote and stand for election, if they are seen to be opposed. to the ruling party, ”Vivanco said. “Senior UN officials and UN member countries who care about human rights have the opportunity to prevent a regional crisis by pressuring Ortega to end his crackdown now. They should get hold of it.
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