By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
As reported by VOA (voanews.com)
on Monday, the Nicaraguan government’s negotiators
have signed an agreement ratifying their
commitment to free hundreds of people considered
political prisoners by the opposition.
The document signed in talks with the Civic
Alliance opposition group on Friday calls for the
International Red Cross to propose an updated list
of prisoners who should be freed by mid-May.
The opposition says more than 640 people have been
jailed for political causes since protests broke
out in April 2018 against the government of
President Daniel Ortega. The government says the
actual numbers are far smaller.
The government also said it would drop charges
against many people facing arrest warrants,
including some who had fled abroad.
On Thursday, March 21, Nicaraguan President Daniel
Ortega promised to free all protesters arrested in
the last year within 90 days.
The release of more than 700 opposition
protesters had been the main demand of the
opposition for continuing talks with the
government. In return, the government is asking
for the lifting of sanctions imposed against the
Ortega administration.
At least 325 people were killed last year amid a
security crackdown on the protests, according to
the Inter-American Commission, and more than
50,000 have fled the country.
In February U.N. human rights chief Michelle
Bachelet expressed alarm at growing repression in
Nicaragua and warned that the increasing
criminalization of dissent is promoting political
and social instability in the country.
Over the past six months, the government of
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has arrested
hundreds of political opponents and activists,
allegedly to muzzle them and keep their opinions
from being heard.
The U.N. human rights office says those arrested
and held in pre-trial detention for long periods
allegedly had leading roles in last year's
anti-government protests between April and July.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michele
Bachelet warned these hard-nosed tactics are
seriously undermining proposed efforts to resolve
the growing political and social unrest in
Nicaragua.
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The
High Commissioner's spokesman, Rupert Colville,
said guilty verdicts and extremely heavy
sentences have been handed down to a number of
prominent opposition and community leaders since
December. He said some of these leaders had
cooperated with the U.N. and have brought a
number of human rights abuses in Nicaragua to
its attention.
"The High Commissioner is deeply concerned
about the apparent lack of due process and the
increasing criminalization of dissent in
Nicaragua. The arrest and jailing of opposition
leaders, she says, is possibly in some cases a
reprisal for cooperating with the U.N. and it
clearly hinders the creation of an environment
that is conducive to holding a genuine and
inclusive dialogue, which the government says it
wants," said the spokesman.
The government has blamed protests on criminal
groups and "opposition political groups with
specific political agendas." The government
calls them "terrorists" and says it has "the
duty to defend the security and peace."
Among those convicted in recent weeks is
student leader Jonathan Lopez. He was sentenced
to five years and three months in prison.
Peasant leaders Medardo Mairen and Pedro Mena
have been sentenced to 216 and 210 years in
prison respectively.
Sentences are pending for two former army
officers, Carlos Brenes, and Tomas Maldonado.
The state prosecutor is seeking jail terms of 32
and 34 years respectively.
High Commissioner Bachelet is calling for
these convictions and sentences to be reviewed
by independent experts. This is to make sure
their cases were properly handled at every
stage—from arrest to prosecution.
She said all
those arrested for protesting peacefully and
exercising their freedom of expression should be
released.
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Should international organizations act the same in
the Nicaraguan crisis as they did in the
Venezuelan crisis? We would like to know your
thoughts on this story. Send your comments to: news@amcostarica.com
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