International pressure on the Daniel Ortega regime over the disappearance of Mons. Abelardo Mata Guevara continues to mount. Following the intervention last week by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), it is now the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, who has demanded that the Nicaraguan government provide information on the whereabouts and health status of the bishop emeritus of Estelí, detained at the end of June.
In a statement issued from Geneva, Türk expressed concern over the persecution of the Catholic Church and other religious denominations, while calling for the immediate release of all persons arbitrarily detained in the country.
“I am troubled by reports of repression against the Catholic Church and other religious denominations, including the lack of official information on the fate, whereabouts, and condition of Bishop Abelardo Mata Guevara, 80, who was detained on June 29,” the High Commissioner stated.
UN warns of the end of democratic guarantees in Nicaragua
The High Commissioner’s statement was not limited to the case of Mons. Mata. Volker Türk also denounced the accelerated deterioration of the rule of law in Nicaragua following statements by Daniel Ortega, who announced on July 19 that the country would no longer hold elections in which the opposition could contest power.
During the commemorative event marking the anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution, Ortega declared that “there will be no more elections here in which they can try to seize the government,” justifying the decision as a measure to prevent the return to power of sectors opposed to the regime.
In response to these statements, Türk warned that excluding opponents from political participation would further aggravate the country’s institutional crisis and urged authorities to restore the rule of law. “People of all political orientations must be able to vote and run for public office,” the High Commissioner emphasized, also denouncing the growing concentration of power in the hands of the co-presidency formed by Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo.
The UN Human Rights Office also recalled that the ruling party controls the National Assembly, all municipalities, and the regional councils of the Caribbean Coast, while at least 46 people remain arbitrarily detained for political reasons. According to Türk, civic space in Nicaragua is “almost completely closed” and freedom of expression is subject to systematic repression.
Concern grows over the bishop’s health
Mons. Abelardo Mata, bishop emeritus of Estelí —a diocese located in northern Nicaragua—, was detained by police after presiding over a Mass in which he prayed for the persecuted Church in the country.
Since then, his situation has remained shrouded in uncertainty. Although the regime has claimed that the prelate remains at his residence, it has provided no evidence to verify this assertion nor any official information regarding his health status.
The 80-year-old bishop suffers from diabetes, vision problems, and a heart condition for which he has a pacemaker. In recent weeks, bishops from Central America have publicly requested that he be allowed to receive medical care, while various human rights organizations warn that this could be a case of enforced disappearance.
International pressure increases
Concluding his statement, Volker Türk urged the Ortega regime to immediately release all persons arbitrarily detained and warned that recent events “deepen severe restrictions on fundamental freedoms, the dismantling of civic space, and the ongoing erosion of the rule of law” in Nicaragua.