Press briefing notes on Nicaragua

Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights:  Rupert Colville
Location: Geneva 
Date: 22 February 2019

Nicaragua

The High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet is issuing a press release today warning that if the arrests and convictions of people expressing dissenting opinions continue in Nicaragua, current efforts to start dialogue to solve the political and social unrest in the country could be seriously undermined.

Over the last six months, several hundred people - including peasant leaders, students, former politicians, journalists and civil society activists - have been arrested and held in pre-trial detention for long periods in connection with their alleged roles during the protests between April and July 2018.

Since December, amid rising concerns about the independence of the judiciary, various criminal courts in Managua have handed down guilty verdicts and extremely heavy sentences to a number of prominent opposition or community leaders, some of whom had cooperated with the UN and helped to highlight human rights abuses in Nicaragua.

Read the full press release