Nicaragua - January 2023

Criminal proceedings against the family of Javier Alvarez, an opposition politician and political prisoner, resulted in prison sentences of eight years for his wife and daughter, and ten years for his son-in-law, for conspiracy and dissemination of fake news on social media. Human rights organizations have decried what they characterize as a new pattern of harassment and intimidation that targets family members of those who express dissent from the Ortega regime. 

Also in January, Bishop Rolando Alvarez, six other members of the Catholic Church, and another person who was accompanying their group when Bishop Alvarez was arrested last August, were found guilty of conspiracy against the state. Bishop Alvarez, who had been vocal in his condemnation of restrictions to religious freedom and the confiscation of assets and expulsion of members of the Catholic Church, had been accused by authorities of attempting to destabilize the government. Their sentences will be determined in February, but several reports indicate that President Ortega has pressured Bishop Alvarez to accept exile as an alternative to imprisonment. 

Sources: Vatican News, El Pais