Amnesty International has today designated Brooklyn Rivera, a leader of the Miskito Indigenous people, as a prisoner of conscience and calls on the Nicaraguan authorities to order his immediate and unconditional release. The organization has also issued a public statement in which it continues to denounce the repressive model of Daniel Ortega’s government, which has plunged Nicaragua into an unprecedented human rights crisis that has been growing for six years.
“The repression in Nicaragua means that no one is safe,” said Ana Piquer, Americas director at Amnesty International. “From indigenous leaders, journalists, human rights defenders and anyone seen as a risk to the government’s policies, the authorities continue to consolidate a climate of fear in which dissent is punishable by imprisonment, exile or disappearance.”
The repression in Nicaragua means that no one is safe. rom indigenous leaders, journalists, human rights defenders and anyone seen as a risk to the government’s policies, the authorities continue to consolidate a climate of fear in which dissent is punishable by imprisonment, exile or disappearance.
Ana Piquer, Americas director at Amnesty International.
The case of Brooklyn Rivera, a leader of the Miskito Indigenous people, now designated a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International, illustrates this systematic repression. In April 2023, after denouncing the situation of Indigenous peoples at an international forum, the authorities denied him entry into the country. After entering through alternative routes in September of that year, on the basis of the right to freedom of movement recognized for cross-border Indigenous peoples, he was arbitrarily detained and subjected to 14 months of enforced disappearance. In November 2024, during a session of the UN Universal Periodic Review, the Nicaraguan authorities finally admitted that they were holding Brooklyn Rivera on charges of treason, undermining national integrity and conspiracy.
“Exercising his rights and opposing government policies made him a target of the repressive machinery. His case illustrates how the authorities have sustained a policy of intolerance and punishment of any critical voices”, explained Ana Piquer.
Brooklyn Rivera is one of hundreds of people unjustly imprisoned in Nicaragua over the past six years for exercising their rights. “By declaring him a prisoner of conscience, we reaffirm that no one should be deprived of their liberty for defending their rights. This designation seeks to recognize the many people who are still deprived of their liberty or subjected to enforced disappearance for peacefully exercising their rights, and all those who, while in forced exile, continue to resist and fight for a country that respects and protects human rights.”
By declaring him a prisoner of conscience, we reaffirm that no one should be deprived of their liberty for defending their rights. This designation seeks to recognize the many people who are still deprived of their liberty or subjected to enforced disappearance for peacefully exercising their rights, and all those who, while in forced exile, continue to resist and fight for a country that respects and protects human rights.
Ana Piquer, Americas director at Amnesty International.
Moreover, the organization notes in its statement that, in a context of repression and closure of civic space in Nicaragua, the authorities have continued to implement and streamline a strategy of repression that has escalated from the use of lethal force against demonstrators in 2018, to the current arbitrary deprivation of nationality of persons perceived as dissidents. Despite releases from prison in 2023 and 2024, many people continue to be deprived of their liberty for political reasons or simply for expressing anti-government views. The harassment, intimidation and misuse of criminal law that initially targeted protesters, activists, political opponents, journalists, human rights defenders and Indigenous leaders has gradually extended to society as a whole, affecting anyone perceived as a threat to official policies or state narratives.
Amnesty International once again calls on the Nicaraguan government to put an immediate end to all repressive practices, respect the human rights of the entire population, and end the criminalization of dissident voices.
Amnesty International demands the immediate and unconditional release of Brooklyn Rivera and all those arbitrarily detained for exercising their rights. It urges an end to the practice of arbitrary deprivation of nationality, as well as the full restitution of the rights of those who have had their nationality revoked. Furthermore, it advocates for the authorities to provide clear information and access for the families of disappeared persons, ensuring that they may be allowed regular contact with them and that minimum standards for the treatment of detainees are upheld.
Amnesty International also calls on the international community to closely monitor the crisis in Nicaragua through international human rights protection mechanisms, and to host and protect displaced and expelled persons, ensure that they receive humanitarian assistance, and facilitate family reunification. The organisation also urges states to activate universal jurisdiction to investigate and, if there is sufficient admissible evidence, prosecute all those suspected of individual criminal responsibility for possible crimes against humanity, thereby sending a strong message that impunity will not be tolerated.
“States cannot remain silent in the face of the inhumane tactics used by the Ortega and Murillo government for more than six years,” concluded Ana Piquer. “It is imperative that the international community takes concrete and effective measures and acts in a coordinated manner to put an end to this machinery of repression and guarantee access to justice and reparation for the thousands of victims.”
It is imperative that the international community takes concrete and effective measures and acts in a coordinated manner to put an end to this machinery of repression and guarantee access to justice and reparation for the thousands of victims.
Ana Piquer, Americas director at Amnesty International.
Amnesty International’s designation as a prisoner of conscience is based on the information available to the organization regarding the circumstances leading to the person’s detention. By designating a person as a prisoner of conscience, Amnesty International affirms that the person should be immediately and unconditionally released but does not endorse their past or present views or conduct.
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