The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has called on Nicaraguan authorities to put an end to the “generalized repression and religious persecution” that is taking place in the country.
In a statement, the IACHR expressed its concern about “the continuation of arbitrary detentions and the serious conditions in which those in prison remain.”
The organization highlighted the case of two female collaborators of the Catholic Church and 12 priests arrested in August. Seven of them were sent to the Vatican after their arrest in Managua.
Since October 2023, around 200 people associated with the Church have been expelled or prohibited from entering Nicaragua, according to the IACHR.
Daniel Ortega’s government has argued that the Church supported anti-government protests in 2018, which it describes as an attempted coup d’état promoted by the United States.
According to the United Nations (UN), the protests caused the death of 300 people. Vice President Rosario Murillo also called religious leaders “agents of evil” and practicing “spiritual terrorism.”
Finally, the IACHR denounced the unjust detention of at least 141 people, who are being held in unsanitary conditions with limited access to drinking water, adequate food and medical care.
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2024-08-19 03:30:58