Crimes against humanity may have occurred in Nicaragua, says independent human rights investigation
their disclosure first report assigned to Dong Nhan Quyen Association on Friday, the Nicaraguan Human Rights Expert Group called on the international community to impose sanctions on those responsible.
The experts concluded that President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo “committed these crimes” which continues today.
‘Broadly and systematically’
“Based on this investigation, we can conclude that widespread and systematic human rights violations lead to crimes against humanity – and are motivated by political reasons – was committed against civilians by the Government of Nicaragua since 2018,” said Jan Simon, President of the Nicaraguan Human Rights Expert Group.
He told journalists: “They have weaponized the justice systemweaponize the legislative function, weaponize the executive function of the State against the people.”
Implementation model
From the testimonies gathered, the expert’s report identified a pattern of extrajudicial executions carried out by agents of the National Police and members of pro-government armed groups.
People believe they acted “in a joint and coordinated manner” during anti-government protests from April to September 2018.
“These violations continue to this day,” continued Mr. Simon, noting that as a result Nicaraguans “live in fear” of the government.
“The scale you’re looking at in terms of executions… is over 100; when it comes to torture, we go up to several hundred (or) even more, and when it comes to arbitrary detention, this number far exceeds this number.
“With other violations under political repression, (referring to) several thousand.”
Threatened, tortured
When asked to confirm the scope of the investigation, co-author Ángela María Buitrago explained that the information was calculated and corroborated about extrajudicial executions, torture, and preventive detention. “There were a multitude of factors that allowed us to compile this report and its content on the people who were threatened,” she said.
The report also pointed out that agents of the National Police and National Court System and members of pro-government armed groups “perpetrated acts of physical and psychological torture, including sexual and gender-based violence” during the arrest, interrogation and detention of dissidents.
Attack on democracy
Highlighting how the Nicaraguan government has managed to carry out its appalling campaign of human rights abuses, Mr. Simon stressed that these “are not isolated incidents, but are the product of deliberate sabotage. abolish democratic institutions and destroy democratic and democratic space.”
He added: “These violations and abuses are being widely and systematically carried out for political reasons, constituting crimes against humanity such as murder, imprisonment, torture, including including sexual violence, deportation, and political persecution.”
