Faced with the expulsion of 222 people, previously arbitrarily detained in Nicaragua, to the United States, Erika Guevara Rosas, director for the Americas at Amnesty International, said:
“While we are happy that the people deported to the United States are no longer in prison in Nicaragua, we are outraged and saddened that their detention has ended in such a disturbing way.. The detainees spent days, months and years in arbitrary detention, under extreme conditions, and today they have been forced into exile solely for demanding human rights.
The 222 people expelled from Nicaragua today join tens of thousands more who have been forced into exile from the country. In this context, the international community should have no illusions. The devastating human rights crisis in Nicaragua that began with a severe crackdown on protests in April 2018 has not ended. Restrictions on freedom of expression and of the press remain in force. Dozens of people are reported to remain in arbitrary detention. Restrictions on the right to protest and the right to freedom of association remain in force; and the human rights violations and crimes against humanity that have been committed in the context of the crisis continue with total impunity. The international community must redouble its efforts and press for a Nicaragua in which justice and human rights are guaranteed for all people.
While we express our satisfaction with the decision of the United States to offer protection to those who have been expelled from Nicaragua today, we are concerned that the expansion of Title 42 and other restrictive migration policies for Nicaraguans, which in recent weeks have been amended, it could prevent them and others at risk from exercising their right to seek and receive asylum. We call on the US authorities to guarantee the right to asylum for all people expelled from Nicaragua, and for other people who require protection, regardless of the existence of other avenues.”
Additional Information
On February 9, 2023, Amnesty International received information that 222 people, previously arbitrarily detained in Nicaragua for exercising their rights, had been stripped of their nationality and expelled to the United States.
According to Nicaraguan officials, this is in response to a court ruling issued on February 8 that strips the 222 people of their rights as Nicaraguan citizens, prevents them from holding public office in Nicaragua in perpetuity, and orders their deportation.
He mechanism of Recognition of Political Prisoners in Nicaragua it registered 235 people detained for exercising their rights in the country since April 2018, before the deportations that took place on February 9. According to local organizations, dozens of people are still detained.