PREVIEW

UN Says Nicaragua Government Responsible for at Least 8 Deaths in Custody. A United Nations report says Nicaragua’s government is responsible for at least eight deaths in custody since it began its crackdown on dissent in 2018. The findings focus in particular on the death of Indigenous Miskito leader Brooklyn Rivera, who spent 32 months in prison with almost no contact with his family before dying in May. Nicaraguan authorities attributed Rivera’s death to complications from a previous COVID-19 infection, but the UN report said there were inconsistencies in the official explanation. An assessment by Physicians for Human Rights also questioned the explanation, saying the infections identified in Rivera’s case appeared to have been acquired while he was in custody. The UN said Rivera’s death could not be independently investigated because authorities did not order an autopsy or an independent inquiry, and called for his body to be returned to his family. UN experts said they had documented at least 161 enforced disappearances since 2018, with 29 people still unaccounted for, and called on the government to provide information about them. The findings add to international scrutiny of President Daniel Ortega and co-President Rosario Murillo, whose government has been accused of using arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances and other abuses to suppress opposition.
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