Nicaragua: He chose to bear witness and refused exile
Today, November 10, marks nine months since the dictatorial regime led by Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua sentenced Bishop Rolando Álvarez to 26 years in prison. We must not forget that on February 9 of this year, the Ortega-Murillos expelled 222 political prisoners from the country, accusing them of "treason […]
Today, November 10, marks nine months since the dictatorial regime
led by Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua sentenced Bishop Rolando Álvarez to 26 years in prison. We must not forget that on February 9 of this year, the Ortega-Murillos expelled 222 political prisoners, women and men, from the country, accusing them of "treason against the homeland" and stripping them of their Nicaraguan nationality. Bishop Álvarez was also offered that "option," a term used by Argentina's last civic-military dictatorship to disguise banishment, but he categorically rejected it, refusing to board the plane.
In retaliation for that show of dignity and courage, the following day, in a
spurious trial without any legal guarantees, and also accused of treason against the homeland,
Monsignor Álvarez was sentenced to 26 years in prison and stripped of his nationality, with his civil rights suspended for life. He was held in the prison known as "La Modelo," where for a long time he was confined in a maximum-security cell known as "El Infiernillo" (Little Hell). Since then, the bishop has been the victim of all kinds of abuse and has endured long periods of isolation.
The regime's hatred of the bishop grew when, in 2018,
Álvarez was part of the Episcopal Conference team that served as witness and mediator in the first National Dialogue between Daniel Ortega's regime and the opposition. At that time, Nicaragua was gripped by a civic rebellion that had shaken the country, with protests demanding Ortega's resignation. However, the ruling couple used the dialogue to buy time and order a bloody crackdown that left 355 people dead, according to reports by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).
There is no doubt that the situation in Nicaragua remains serious. More than 300 opponents
of the regime have been declared "traitors to the homeland" and stripped of their nationality, and are permanently barred from holding elected office. In addition, their real estate and savings have been confiscated, and retirees among them have had their pensions taken away.
Out of our commitment to democracy, peace and unrestricted respect for
human rights, we have a duty to denounce these crimes and, wherever we are, to stand in active solidarity with the Nicaraguan people.
Download the full statement by clicking here:
This article was translated automatically from Spanish. Read the original
