Nicaragua releases 135 political, religious prisoners; many still remain in custody

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 5, 2024 / 16:26 pm

Nicaraguan authorities released 135 political and religious prisoners following international pressure, but many critics of the government still remain behind bars amid the ongoing crackdown against political dissidents and religious organizations.

“No one should be put in jail for peacefully exercising their fundamental rights of free expression, association, and practicing their religion,” U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in a Thursday statement. 

The U.S. Department of State (DOS), which has been working to secure the release of political prisoners in Nicaragua, announced that the freed people included Catholic laypeople, 13 individuals associated with the Texas-based evangelical group Mountain Gateway, and human rights activists.

According to the DOS, many of the former prisoners temporarily resettled “safely and voluntarily” in Guatemala. The Guatemalan government worked with the United States government to help secure the prisoners’ release. 

“These freed Nicaraguan citizens will now have the opportunity to apply for lawful pathways to resettle to the United States or elsewhere and begin the process of rebuilding their lives,” a DOS statement read.

President Daniel Ortega’s administration has jailed hundreds of political opponents over the past six years after the 2018 protests against his leadership. The socialist president has also expelled religious sisters and shut down Catholic schools and media outlets. He has imprisoned dozens of Catholic clergy, including Bishop Rolando Álvarez — who was released and sent to the Vatican along with priests and seminarians in January of this year.

Just last week, the regime shut down 169 additional nonprofit organizations, which included Catholic organizations and evangelical churches. Last week, the government also confiscated a retirement fund for Catholic priests. Last month, the dictatorship eliminated tax exemptions for Catholic and evangelical churches. 

“Daniel Ortega, [Vice President] Rosario Murillo, and their associates continue to violate human rights, stifle legitimate dissent, jail opponents, seize their property, and prevent citizens from reentering their home country,” the DOS statement read. “We urge the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience in Nicaragua.”

Kristina Hjelkrem, who serves as legal counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom International (ADF) in Latin America, told CNA that “many families will be reunited” because of the most recent prisoner release in Nicaragua. ADF advocated on behalf of the individuals affiliated with Mountain Gateway.

Hjelkrem said the regime frequently fabricates charges against its opponents by prosecuting them for financial crimes, such as money laundering, or for recently created crimes such as the “propagation of false news” or the “undermining of national integrity.” Effectively, she said this is a way to arrest people for “talking against the human rights violations [of] of the government.” 

“One of their biggest strategies is to initiate criminal proceedings against churches and church-related institutions on sham charges,” Hjelkrem said. 

Hjelkrem said the regime targets anyone “who is calling out the government’s wrongdoing or even just preaching the Gospel … [because] the Gospel stands for human dignity and justice.”

According to Hjelkrem, international pressure from human rights groups and sovereign states “has proven to be effective” in securing the release of Nicaraguan political and religious prisoners. She encouraged people to continue to “speak up against the censorship that religious leaders in Nicaragua are experiencing.”

Sullivan, in his statement, called for the Nicaraguan government “to immediately cease the arbitrary arrest and detention of its citizens for merely exercising their fundamental freedoms.”

In April, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom released a report on religious persecution around the world. According to its findings, Nicaragua was one of the worst offenders of religious persecution.