Chapter IV.B Nicaragua Annual ANNUAL REPORT 2020
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2020 Nicaragua Chapter IV.B report Annual ANNUAL REPORT 2020 CHAPTER IV. B NICARAGUA I. INTRODUCTION 1. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (“the Commission,” “the Inter- American Commission,” or “the IACHR”) has monitored with special attention the steadily deteriorating human rights crisis in Nicaragua in the context of the violent repression of social protests that started on April 18, 2018, as well as the weakening of the rule of law. 2. In 2020, the Inter-American Commission observes that the human rights crisis in Nicaragua continues to intensify owing to the persistent failure to observe the principle of separation of powers, the growing repression of voices criticizing the government, and the absence of institutional reforms aimed at restoring the rule of law. Likewise, two years after the social protests started on April 18, 2018, there continues to be a context of widespread impunity for human rights violations committed in the framework of the state’s repression, which have led to the death of 328 persons, more than 2,000 persons injured, more than 1,600 persons arrested, arbitrary dismissal of hundreds of health professionals, and more than 150 groundless expulsions of university students. Furthermore, according to data gathered by UNHCR, more than 103,600 persons have been forced to flee Nicaragua and to seek asylum because of persecution and human rights violations; of these persons, 77,000 have relocated to Costa Rica, 8,000 have fled to Panama, and 9,000 to Europe, while Mexico is sheltering some 3,600 Nicaraguans.1 3. In the period under review, the Commission has denounced the launching of a new phase of state repression in Nicaragua, characterized by increasingly intense surveillance, intimidation, and selective repression of persons opposing the government, as well as acts of violence in rural areas and against indigenous and Afrodescendant communities. The IACHR has observed the extended de facto state of emergency, which upholds suspending or severely constraining basic rights such as freedom of expression and association, the rights to assembly, to human rights defense, to social protest, and to participate in managing public affairs. As analyzed in the present report, this new repressive phase would entail the most intense and systematic assault on civil liberties since the crisis from 2018 and would be aimed at ensuring the complete shutdown of democratic spaces in the country.2 4. The IACHR observes that the imposition of a police state continues to prevent any social mobilization with the taking of public spaces. In fact, in the period under review, actions of harassment and intimidation to prevent actions that could lead to protest activities have intensified. This has involved barricading the homes of dissidents and permanent surveillance of civil society organizations. Likewise, there continues to be a pattern of arbitrary detentions and criminalization of dissidents, including those released from custody. Regarding this, in its thematic report Persons 1 UNHCR, “Más de 100.000 personas forzadas a huir de Nicaragua tras dos años de crisis política y social” [Two years of political and social crisis in Nicaragua force more than 100,000 to flee], March 10, 2020. 2 IACHR, Press release No. 80/20, A dos años de iniciada la crisis de derechos humanos en Nicaragua, la CIDH reitera su compromiso permanente con las víctimas y constata consolidación de una quinta etapa de represión [Two years into Nicaragua’s human rights crisis, the IACHR stresses its permanent commitment to victims and confirms the consolidation of a fifth phase of repression], Washington, D.C., April 18, 2020. Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Deprived of Liberty in Nicaragua in connection with the Human Right Crisis that Began on April 18, 2018, the Inter-American Commission has ascertained that, from the start of the social protests, arbitrary detentions and deprivation of liberty have been used primarily to repress any stand taken against the current regime and to send a message of fear and control to the Nicaraguan population.3 5. In particular, in 2020, the IACHR observes the upsurge in the phenomenon called “revolving door” (puerta giratoria), which is a trend whereby a similar number of persons over the same period of time are detained and then released, which, in addition to creating uncertainty and distress, is intent on upholding a pattern of arbitrary detentions as a preemptive strategy against dissidents and denying the existence of “political prisoners.”4 As of December 7, 2020, more than 100 continued to be detained unlawfully and at least 20 persons who had been released were charged with new offenses.5 6. Furthermore, the Commission observes with concern that the situation of risk encountered by human rights defenders in Nicaragua continues to be undermined by increasingly greater attacks, threats, harassment, intimidation, and other acts of violence against them, by both pro-government groups and the National Police. These attacks and other events of violence are also impacting religious leaders, social leaders, students, persons released from custody, victims and their next of kin, even persons benefiting from protection measures granted in the framework of the inter- American human rights protection system.6 7. In that context, the IACHR is concerned about the continuation of actions that tend to undermine the capacity of human rights defense organizations to discharge their legitimate duty of defending human rights. Among other incidents, on June 25, 2020, the National Assembly decreed the termination of the legal status of the Municipal Twinning Association (Asociación de Hermanamiento Municipal―ASODHERMU), allegedly in retaliation for the initiatives announced by the organization to support families impacted by COVID-19.7 Along with that, 10 organizations have been impacted by the termination of their legal status since the start of the human rights crisis. The IACHR has also condemned adoption of the Law Regulating Foreign Agents (Ley de Regulación de Agentes Extranjeros) of October 15, 2020, which would involve criminalizing the organizations receiving funding or support from abroad to carry out their activities and defend their causes.8 3 IACHR, Persons Deprived of Liberty in Nicaragua in connection with the Human Rights Crisis that Began on April 18, 2018, OEA/Ser.L/V/II. Doc. 287, October 5, 2020, para. 5 4 IACHR, Persons Deprived of Liberty in Nicaragua in connection with the Human Rights Crisis that Began on April 18, 2018, OEA/Ser.L/V/II. Doc. 287, October 5, 2020, para. 269. 5 Mecanismo para el Reconocimiento de Personas Presas Políticas (Mechanism for the Recognition of Political Prisoners, Lista-informe preliminar de personas presas políticas en Nicaragua [Preliminary list-report of political prisoners in Nicaragua], December 7, 2020. 6 Since April 2018, the IACHR has requested the Nicaraguan government to adopt more than 85 precautionary measures to protect more than 200 people and their immediate families from the imminent risk of suffering irreparable damage to their lives and integrity in the context of the severe crisis in the country. IACHR, Press release No. 146/20. A dos años de instalación del MESENI, la CIDH recuerda obligaciones de derechos humanos pendientes en Nicaragua [Two years after the creation of MESENI, IACHR recalls Nicaragua’s pending rights obligations], Washington, D.C., June 23, 2020. 7 Decreto De Cancelación De La Personalidad Jurídica De La Asociación De Hermanamiento Municipal (Asodhermu) [Decree Terminating the Legal Status of the Municipal Twinning Association], adopted on June 25, 2020. Published in the official gazette La Gaceta, Diario Oficial No. 117 of June 26, 2020. 8 IACHR, Press release No. 249/20, La CIDH llama a cesar de inmediato los actos de persecución contra las personas identificadas como opositoras al gobierno y al restablecimiento de garantías democráticas en Nicaragua [IACHR calls for the immediate cessation of acts of persecution against persons identified as opponents of the government and restoring democratic guarantees in Nicaragua]. Washington, D.C., October 10, 2020. 557 Inter-American Commission on Human Rights 8. As examined in section III of the present chapter, the Inter-American Commission and the Special Rapporteurship for Freedom of Expression (RELE) have observed a new upsurge in repression of the media, marked by tax penalties and the adoption of laws that would seriously jeopardize their exercise of the right to freedom of expression, such as the following: Special Law on Cybercrimes (Ley Especial de Ciberdelitos)9 and the Law Regulating Foreign Agents (Ley de Regulación de Agentes Extranjeros).10 In particular, in October, both the IACHR and RELE rejected the embargo on Nicavisión S.A., owner of Canal 12, allegedly for tax arrears and the proceedings filed against Canal 10. These free television broadcasting stations are the only ones that would have continued to operate independently in Nicaragua.11 They also condemned the increasing harassment of journalists by the courts, with criminal charges being filed against them for offenses that are incompatible with the American Convention.12 9. Furthermore, the indigenous and Afrodescendant communities of the Caribbean coastal region continue to be targeted by widespread violence perpetrated by land-grabbing settlers and third parties, who are acting with the state’s tacit approval and tolerance. In 2020, the attacks perpetrated against these communities led to the killing