Human rights experts report extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detention and hundreds of cases of torture. The researchers also denounce the dozens of recent cases in which government critics were deprived of their Nicaraguan nationality. In addition, members of the national police and armed pro-government groups have been linked to sexual violence.
“These violations and abuses are committed on a large scale and systematically for political reasons,” said Jan Simon, chairman of the expert group. Crimes against humanity continue, he emphasizes. The crimes are the result of “a deliberate dismantling of institutions” and a destruction of fundamental freedoms, the report said.
The government of former guerrilla leader Daniel Ortega is cracking down on its opponents in Nicaragua. In 2018, protests against the regime were brutally crushed, resulting in the deaths of more than 300 people. Since then, thousands of opponents have been imprisoned. Many of those prisoners are in isolation or are confronted with excessive violence.