Worsening Persecution of Christians in Nicaragua: A Call for Prayer and Action
The actions of Sandinista Dictator Daniel Ortega, President of Nicaragua, and his wife Rosario Murillo, Vice President, keep Nicaragua in the limelight among countries which violently persecute Christians.
The sentencing on February 9 of Bishop Rolando Alvarez of Matagalpa is but the latest in ongoing crackdowns targeting Christians in Nicaragua. With nearly 60% of the population of the country belonging to the Catholic Church, those associated with the Church have been a special target since the Church’s efforts to mediate between the opposition and the government during the widespread protests of 2018. Not only does the Nicaraguan government restrict activities inside churches and ban the traditional street processions leading up to Holy Week and Easter, but deliberately targets churches and church leaders in order to silence dissent. The Heritage Foundation claims there have been over 190 distinct attacks since 2018.
https://www.heritage.org/religious-liberty/commentary/christianity-under-siege-nicaragua
On March 2, 2023, a team of human rights experts from the United Nations called for international sanctions against the government of Nicaragua, saying that it has committed serious and systematic violations including acts of torture, extrajudicial executions, arbitrary detentions, and political persecution, amounting to crimes against humanity.
On February 9, 2023, Bishop Alvarez, arrested on August 19, 2022, was slated to be exiled along with a group of 222 political prisoners being stripped of their citizenship and deported to the United States. The bishop refused to board the plane for deportation, and President Ortega referred to him as “unhinged”, “arrogant” and “a raving lunatic.” A few hours later, he was sentenced by a judge to 26 years and 4 months in prison. He is now reportedly being held in a maximum security cell in La Modelo prison.
Over the past four years Bishop Rolando Alvarez has been a strong voice calling for democracy, including electoral reform.
Recent comments by Pope Francis in support of Bishop Alvarez, and statements about the dictatorship of Ortega and Murillo, have infuriated the ruling Nicaraguan government, which ordered the closure of the Vatican Embassy in Managua and the Nicaraguan Embassy to the Vatican in Rome. On March 18, 2023, according to the Associated Press, the Vatican closed its embassy in Nicaragua.
https://apnews.com/article/vatican-nicaragua-ortega-pope-9b95ffffd3cfddf49b2286027356118f
CAPC calls on churches to pray for Bishop Rolando Alvarez; it also calls on the Government of Canada to exert pressure on the government of Nicaragua to secure his immediate release. Bishop Alvarez has been in a condition of forced disappearance for more than 200 days. His family has not been allowed to visit him. The only photos the regime has released were those taken in the courtroom on December 13, 2022. In fact, since his sentencing on February 9, he has had no contact with the outside world. His relatives have not been given any information about him. Even his right to monthly visits at the maximum security prison has not been respected. According to the International Penal Court’s Rome Statute, this meets the definition of forced disappearance, as the detained person is left beyond any legal recourse for a prolonged period.