UN
Human Rights Chief, Michelle Bachelet, on Friday urged Nicaragua’s government
to release hundreds of dissenters and protesters held in custody.
He said that
their release would be a step towards ending the political crisis and unrest
that had lasted for almost a year in the country.
Nicaragua
has been in turmoil since April, 2018, when a protest wave erupted against the
rule of President Daniel Ortega.
According to
the UN Human Rights Office in Geneva, over the past six months, several hundred peasant leaders, civil society activists and former politicians have been detained over their alleged roles in the protests.
“The arrest
and jailing of opposition leaders clearly hinders the creation of an
environment conducive to holding a genuine and inclusive dialogue which the
government says it wants,’’ Bachelet said in a statement.
Nicaragua’s
courts have handed down tough sentences on activists in recent weeks, including
peasant leaders Medardo Mairena and Pedro Mena, who received prison terms of
216 years and 210 years.
“I am deeply
concerned about the apparent lack of due process and increasing criminalisation
of dissent in Nicaragua,’’ Bachelet said. (dpa/NAN)
