Nicaragua is facing an overwhelming social and economic crisis, in which the struggle for the liberation of political prisoners and the denunciation of the continued harassment of activists and their families is of enormous importance. As of August 5, there were 99 political prisoners, ten of whom have been imprisoned since before the rebellion of 2018.
In spite of the fact that an amnesty was issued in June 2019, reducing the number of political prisoners from around 700 to a hundred, the groups for the defense of political prisoners describe the continuity of the persecution with the metaphor of the «revolving door,» since dozens of people who were released from prison have been victims of new arrests. The amnesty also had a great popular repudiation for being designed to leave in impunity the repressive crimes of orteguismo itself, which killed more than 400 people in the repression against the rebellion of 2018. The persecution against all forms of worker, student and popular dissidence has continued with massive expulsions of students from public universities and the carrying out of numerous judicial farces.
Between May 4 and August 4 of this year, there were 63 arrests of dissidents. Of the current political prisoners, 20 are activists who were released and later recaptured. Among the prisoners there are people who have not been formerly charged with any crime or who have been acquitted of the false crimes they have been accused of but are still arbitrarily detained. One of the methods preferred by the orteguista police is to fabricate accusations of drug possession in order to imprison opposition activists and impose long prison sentences. One of the political prisoners, student Kevin Solis, was sentenced to ten years in prison after an Ortega sympathizer accused him of stealing the equivalent of $15. He has been subjected to solitary confinement and torture.
The health of dozens of prisoners has deteriorated as a result of the appalling sanitary conditions in the prisons. More than 40 prisoners have reported having been infected with covid19 . Peasant leader Justo Rodríguez, arrested for protesting on the second anniversary of the 2018 rebellion, suffered a stroke while in confinement at the end of August, and his sister Emerita Rodríguez has also been arrested for denouncing the situation. Police and paramilitary harassment of the families of those detained for political reasons is recurrent.
Several political prisoners and their families denounce that the traditional opposition parties do very little to obtain their freedom. The capitalists and the traditional parties have made numerous agreements with Ortega since he returned to power in 2007, through an electoral Alliance with various members of the former Contra, such as his vice president until 2012, Morales Carazo. We support the attempts of sectors of the Nicaraguan youth and working people to constitute a political alternative to consistently fight for democratic freedoms and against exploitative and plundering capitalism in Nicaragua. We call on the workers’ and popular organizations of Latin America and the world to show solidarity (*) with the demand for freedom for all people imprisoned for political reasons in Nicaragua.
International Workers’ Unity-Fourth International (IWU-FI)
September 2, 2020
www.uit-ci.org
(*) P.S.: We are currently promoting gathering signatures for this campaign
Petition
We, activists and members of political, trade union, peasant, women’s, student and popular organizations, demand that the government of Nicaragua immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners.
Signatures
Organizations
International Workers’ Unity – Fourth International (IWU-FI).
Committee for the International Regrouping of Revolutionaries (CIRR)
Nicaragua: Multiversidad Libertaria, Education and Criticism Platform; Nepantla Workshop, Art Collective; Hora Cero, Media
Argentina: Freedom Socialist Party (PSL)
Australia: Freedom Socialist Party (FSP)
Brazil: Socialist Revolutionary Movement (MRS)
United States: Socialist Resurgence (SR), Freedom Socialist Party (FSP), Venezuelan Workers Solidarity (VWS),Anti-War Committees in Solidarity with the Struggles for Self-Determination
Guyana: Socialist Workers Alliance (SWAG)
Mexico: Socialist Workers’ Party (POS)
Individual signatures
Argentina: Juan Carlos Giordano, national congressman, Left and Workers’ Front (FIT-U) of the Province of Buenos Aires, national leader of the Socialist Left (IS); Rubén «Pollo» Sobrero, General Secretary of the Western Section Railway Union; Edgardo Reynoso, railway leader of the TBA-Sarmiento Branch Delegate Body and Mónica Schotthauer, railway delegate and national congresswoman IS-FIT; Angélica Lagunas, leader of ATEN Capital (Teachers union) and members of the Neuquén regional parliament, Socialist Left and the FIT; Liliana Olivero, former regional parliament member for Córdoba, IS-FIT; Mariana Scayola (General Secretary of the Ademys-teachers union of the City of Buenos Aires) and Jorge Adaro (Assistant Secretary of Ademys); Laura Marrone, teachers leader of the City of Buenos Aires and former legislator for IS-FIT in the City of Buenos Aires; Ezequiel Peressini, former legislator for Córdoba, of IS-FIT; Mercedes Trimarchi, leader of the women’s group Isadora, and former legislator for IS-FIT in the Province of Buenos Aires.
Bolivia: Humberto Balderrama, member of the National Directorate of the Workers’ Party; Eliseo Mamani, former executive of the Federation of Rural Teachers of La Paz.
Brazil: Joao Batista Araujo «Baba», City Council member in Rio de Janeiro, Socialist Workers’ Current (CST) in the PSOL; Pedro Rosa, leader of Sintuff and Fasubra (Federation of University Workers); Adriano Diaz, leader of Correos RJ mail workers and CSP-Conlutas; Bruno da Rosa, leader of Garis (waste collectors) and member of the Municipal Board of PSOL in Rio de Janeiro; Diego Vitello , member of the São Paulo Subway Union; Barbara Sineidino, General Coordinator of SEPE (Teaching Professionals), member of the Municipal Board PSOL Rio de Janeiro; Gerson Lima, General Coordinator SINTSEP-Pará union.
Chile: Ranier Rios, leader of the Socialist Workers’ Movement (MST).
Spanish state: Josep Lluis del Alcázar, union delegate for public education and leader of Internationalist Struggle (LI); Marga Olalla, union delegate for municipal workers in Barcelona, LI member; Miquel Blanch, union delegate for teachers in adult schools, member of the CCOO union current in Girona, LI member; M. Esther del Alcázar, union delegate for public education and leader of the LI.
United States: Emmanuel Santos, Socialist Core; Todd Chretien, No Borders News; Mona Frey, Director of the Center for the Empowerment of Refugees and Immigrants; Frieda Afary, Producer of Iranian Progressives in Translation, co-founder of Alliance of Middle Eastern and North African Socialists; Samuel Farber, Professor Emeritus in Political Sciences, Brooklyn College, CUNY.
India: Rohini Hensman, writer and researcher.
Panama: Priscilla Vasquez, national leader of Social Security workers; Virgilio Arauz, leader of Socialist Project (PS)
Peru: Jorge Corzo, leader of Unidos en el Frente Amplio.
Mexico: Enrique Gómez, Francisco Retama, leaders of the Movement for Socialism (MAS); Jesús Torres Nuño, former president of the Consejo de Administración de Trabajadores Democráticos de Occidente (Tradoc).
Nicaragua: Fabiola Tercero, journalist and feminist.
Dominican Republic: Henry Morel, journalist and member of the Socialist Movement of Workers (MST).
Turkey: Sedat Durel, General Secretary of the Union of Revolutionary Telecommunication and Call Center Workers; Atakan Çiftçi, delegate of the Union of Education and Science Workers; Oktay Çelik, president of the Workers’ Democracy Party (IDP), Gorkem Duru, leader of IDP.
Venezuela: José Bodas, general secretary of the United Federation of Oil Workers of Venezuela (Futpv); Orlando Chirino, national leader of the C-cura workers tendency; Armando Guerra, former union leader of Hidrocapital; Miguel Ángel Hernández, leader of the Socialism and Freedom Party (PSL); Simón Rodríguez (PSL); Xili Fernández, political scientist and human rights activist; Marcos García, Secretary of Relations and Propaganda of SinatraUCV university workers union; Rolando Gaitán, Professor at the University of Carabobo, member of the PSL; Oscar Linares, Union Delegate of Sirtrasalud Distrito Capital health workers union; Antonio Espinoza, Universidad Politécnica Territorial del estado Aragua and PSL member.
Signatures will be received until the 21st of september 2020
To add signatures:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdyrbUlllxuYjDhEgq0cjZ9489gwPrwFS1eFbxtNOwmSJfc8A/viewform
Send signatures to the following email:
uitcuartainternacional@gmail.com
