Top independent experts reporting to the Human Rights Council on Thursday named dozens of Nicaraguan officials who they say are responsible for grave violations, abuses and crimes.
The Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua was established by the Council following the deadly suppression of protests in 2018 against President Daniel Ortega, who is serving his fourth term, currently with his co-president and wife Rosario Murillo.
The experts – who are not UN staff – have previously alleged that the Central American country has become an authoritarian State by means of a “tightly coordinated system of repression”, from the President down to local officials.
On 27 February, one day before the Group presented its latest report, Nicaragua announced its withdrawal from the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
The independent experts maintain that 54 government, military and party officials played key roles in rights violations including arbitrary detention, torture, extrajudicial executions and persecution of civil society and the media.
The investigators have previously accused the Nicaraguan authorities of “widespread and systematic” repression and “weaponizing” every branch of government to strengthen their grip on power.
“These are not random or isolated incidents – they are part of a deliberate and well-orchestrated State policy carried out by identifiable actors through defined chains of command,” said Ariela Peralta, one of the three experts.
The list of names has been shared with the Nicaraguan government, which has previously rejected allegations of rights abuses and refuses to cooperate with the experts.
