Tegucigalpa, May 20 (EFE).- At least 65 Nicaraguans, mostly opponents and critics of the government headed by Daniel Ortega, have been detained in Nicaragua by the National Police so far in May, according to a report released this Saturday by the so-called Blue and White Monitoring.
From May 1 to 16, there have been 181 incidents related to human rights violations in Nicaragua, including 65 express arrests, detailed the Blue and White Monitoring, whose reports are endorsed by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).
Of the 181 incidents related to human rights violations, 80 are “arbitrary” prosecution processes, 65 “express” arrests, 19 harassment, 11 threats and 6 raids, specified the Blue and White Monitoring, which also reported an increase in “repression” in Nicaragua.
At least 57 Nicaraguans were detained on May 3 in a night raid carried out by the National Police in different municipalities of Nicaragua, including two journalists, peasants, human rights activists and teachers, according to that observatory.
Hours after being arrested and accused of crimes considered “treason”, most were sent home with a precautionary measure, in which they must sign periodically at the police or judicial delegations of their municipality.
According to that Mechanism, there are at least 47 “political prisoners” in Nicaragua, which updated the figure, after reporting that there were 46.
Among the 47 opponents or critics of Ortega who are still in prison is Monsignor Rolando José Álvarez Lagos, bishop of the diocese of Matagalpa and apostolic administrator of the diocese of Estelí, both in northern Nicaragua, who was sentenced to more than 26 years. of prison for crimes considered “treason to the fatherland”.
Also the journalist Víctor Ticay, a collaborator of Channel 10 of the local television, the released opposition member Olesia Auxiliadora Muñoz Pavón, and the student leader Jasson Salazar.
Nicaragua has been going through a political and social crisis since April 2018, which has worsened after the controversial general elections of November 7, 2021, in which Ortega was re-elected for a fifth term, fourth in a row and second together with his wife, Rosario Murillo. , as vice president, with her main contenders in prison or in exile. EFE