The government of Daniel Ortega pledged to release all people detained in the context of the crisis that began on April 18, 2018. However, according to information from civil society organizations, more than 80 people are still in prison.
“The government of Daniel Ortega maintains his constant lack of will to resolve the serious human rights crisis and put an end to the repression. It is regrettable that hundreds of people in Nicaragua have been detained for exercising their right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly and that, more than a year after the beginning of the crisis, dozens remain imprisoned. All these people should already be free and without charges”, said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty international
The government of Daniel Ortega maintains his constant lack of will to resolve the serious human rights crisis and put an end to the repression. It is regrettable that hundreds of people in Nicaragua have been detained for exercising their right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly and that, more than a year after the beginning of the crisis, dozens remain imprisoned. All these people should already be free and without charges,
said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty international
“Amnesty International has received reports of harassment of people who have been released. The authorities must investigate these attacks, as well as all serious violations of human rights in a prompt, impartial and independent manner, and put an immediate end to the strategy of persecution and criminalization that is pushing thousands of people to flee the country due to lack of guarantees to their rights.
Additional information
According to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and other Nicaraguan civil society organizations, the crisis in Nicaragua has resulted in 325 deaths and more than 2,000 people injured.
In addition, the figures provided by civil society organizations determine that almost 800 people have been detained since the beginning of the crisis. According to the UNHCR, some 62,000 Nicaraguans have fled to neighboring countries, 55,000 of them have sought refuge in Costa Rica.
Amnesty International continues to receive reports of human rights violations. On May 16, 2019, Eddy Montes (57 years old), with dual Nicaraguan and US citizenship, was shot dead in La Modelo prison in Managua. He and others who were injured had been arrested for participating in the 2018 demonstrations. The National Assembly of Nicaragua passed an amnesty law on June 8, 2019, which could endanger the truth, justice and reparation of victims of the crisis.