European Parliament asks to sanction Nicaraguan judges who condemned opponents

Two opponents of conspiracy in Nicaragua are found guilty 0:55 (CNN Spanish) — The European Parliament approved this Thursday a resolution on Nicaragua in which they denounce what they consider to be the “instrumentalization” of the Judiciary as a weapon of repression against the opposition before “the lack of separation of powers and the total control of the institutions by the regime”, and they ask the Council of the European Union to initiate a process to sanction more than a dozen judges. In the resolution – the fifth on Nicaragua – which was approved with the favorable vote of 524 MEPs, 17 votes against and 29 abstentions, the European Parliament maintains that “the judges have become a repressive arm, responsible for the violation of human rights”. Likewise, they request the release of all the detained opponents, annul the judicial processes and allow the return of refugees and exiles. The Nicaraguan Judiciary has not officially reacted to this resolution of the European Parliament. CNN has requested a comment from its public relations office, but as of Thursday we had not received a response. Between February and May, the Nicaraguan Judiciary has sentenced more than 40 opposition leaders to between eight and 14 years in prison for crimes such as conspiracy to allegedly undermine national integrity, or money laundering, in closed-door trials, made in jail. The European Parliament document underlines the existence of 182 political prisoners “in subhuman conditions”, seven of them former candidates for the November 2021 elections, in which Daniel Ortega won the presidency for the fourth consecutive term. The MEPs also ask for the repeal of several laws such as those legislations that, in their opinion, restrict the civic and democratic space in the Central American country. The resolution called “The Instrumentalization of Justice as a repressive tool in Nicaragua” considered that the seriousness of the abuses and violations of human rights in Nicaragua warrant an investigation by the International Criminal Court against Ortega, as responsible for alleged crimes against humanity committed since 2018. Two opponents of conspiracy in Nicaragua are found guilty 0:55 The Nicaraguan government has not officially reacted to this resolution. CNN has unsuccessfully requested a reaction from the Communication and Sovereignty Council, but so far we are awaiting a response. Ortega has maintained the narrative that his government in 2018 was the victim of a failed coup attempt financed from abroad. Finally, the MEPs regretted that Managua voted against the expulsion of Russia from the UN Human Rights Council for what they consider to be atrocities perpetrated in Ukraine and that Nicaragua abstained in March, during the vote on a resolution condemning and requesting Russian intervention.