Published
The arrest by police of several politicians, student activists, and farming leaders in Nicaragua has human rights groups concerned that the government led by President Daniel Ortega is trying to stifle opposition in the run-up to a general election.
The most recent arrests of high-profile figures came on July 5, when police detained three farming leaders, accusing them of murder, kidnap and armed robbery during anti-government demonstrations in 2018. The Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) government says the protests were part of a coup attempt supported by foreign powers. One of those detained, Medardo Mairena, had been considering a bid to run for president in elections on November 7. Two student leaders were also arrested.
Mairena is the sixth person with presidential aspirations to have been detained of late by police. Since early June, candidates Cristiana Chamorro, Arturo Cruz, Félix Maradiaga, Miguel Mora Barberena and Juan Sebastián Chamorro have been arrested.
The UN’s human rights chief Michelle Bachelet and the European Union’s High Representative Josep Borrell have led international criticism of the arrests, while Human Rights Watch says Nicaragua’s government is leading an “intensifying campaign of violence and repression against the opposition and civil society”. Ortega has rejected the censure, saying that laws recently passed by the FSLN-dominated congress are being applied “by the book” against “enemies of the revolution”.
In this episode of The Stream, we’ll look at the impact of the recent arrests in Nicaragua and ask what they mean for the country in the run-up to the November elections.
Join the conversation:
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/AJStream
FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/AJStream
Subscribe to our channel http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe
#aljazeeraenglish
#ajstream
#Nicaragua
The most recent arrests of high-profile figures came on July 5, when police detained three farming leaders, accusing them of murder, kidnap and armed robbery during anti-government demonstrations in 2018. The Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) government says the protests were part of a coup attempt supported by foreign powers. One of those detained, Medardo Mairena, had been considering a bid to run for president in elections on November 7. Two student leaders were also arrested.
Mairena is the sixth person with presidential aspirations to have been detained of late by police. Since early June, candidates Cristiana Chamorro, Arturo Cruz, Félix Maradiaga, Miguel Mora Barberena and Juan Sebastián Chamorro have been arrested.
The UN’s human rights chief Michelle Bachelet and the European Union’s High Representative Josep Borrell have led international criticism of the arrests, while Human Rights Watch says Nicaragua’s government is leading an “intensifying campaign of violence and repression against the opposition and civil society”. Ortega has rejected the censure, saying that laws recently passed by the FSLN-dominated congress are being applied “by the book” against “enemies of the revolution”.
In this episode of The Stream, we’ll look at the impact of the recent arrests in Nicaragua and ask what they mean for the country in the run-up to the November elections.
Join the conversation:
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/AJStream
FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/AJStream
Subscribe to our channel http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe
#aljazeeraenglish
#ajstream
#Nicaragua
- Category
- World
- Tags
- al jazeera live, al jazeera english, al jazeera
Sign in or sign up to post comments.
Be the first to comment
Up Next
Autoplay
-
25:08
Bonus Edition: Richard Curtis, gerrymandering, Afghan press freedom | The Stream
-
06:57
Tucker: This is the greatest threat to democracy, freedom worldwide
-
24:45
Bonus Edition: UK racism in policing, COVID in Indonesia, India press freedom | The Stream
-
05:00
Tulsi Gabbard: This poses a very clear threat to our freedom
-
25:01
Bonus Edition: Racism in English football, Nicaragua, US Indigenous residential schools | The Stream
-
03:13
Nicaragua election: Political repression, poverty drives farmers to Costa Rica
-
25:13
What does the silencing of supporters of Palestine mean for freedom of speech? | The Stream
-
05:16
This poses the greatest short and long term threat to freedom, Former Dem warns
-
01:20
Freedom of speech: Fundamental human rights are under threat - Justice Atuguba
-
26:01
Is press freedom dead in Afghanistan? | The Stream
-
09:25
Freed political prisoner discusses Nicaragua's slide toward authoritarianism
-
01:37
Nicaragua frees 222 political prisoners, sends them to US
-
25:21
Can the ransomware threat be stopped? | The Stream
-
04:28
Gov. Kristi Noem: This is a threat to our freedom
-
03:06
Austria freedom of speech: Activists say basic liberties under threat
-
09:34
Ottawa Freedom Convoy continues despite threat of arrest
-
25:30
???????? Can the US confront its domestic terror threat? | The Stream
-
02:17
Press Freedom: Freedom of speech in Ghana has been under threat – US Ambassador to Ghana
-
04:39
Online freedom of speech under threat in India | DW News
-
Julian Assange: Extradition or Freedom? | The Stream
-
25:16
???????? Is El Salvador's democracy under threat? | The Stream
-
2:00:58
LIVE: More than 200 political prisoners freed from Nicaragua arrive in the U.S.
Loading...