Communist Nicaragua on Tuesday marked 500 days since it imprisoned Matagalpa Bishop Monsignor Rolando Álvarez by releasing photos of a purported “health check” of the Catholic leader.
Daniel Ortega's government arrested Alvarez in August 2022, who was an outspoken critic of human rights abuses in Nicaragua. declared In February, he was sentenced to 26 years in prison for “treason.'' The regime also stripped him of his Nicaraguan citizenship, rendering him stateless, in clear violation of international law. law.
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Bishop Álvarez became the first Nicaraguan Catholic Church leadership official to be arrested in Ortega's ongoing persecution of Nicaraguan Christians. Since his arrest, the list of Christian political prisoners is 17 A member of the clergy of a church.latest one arrestedFathers Ismael Serrano and Jader Hernandez were taken into custody this weekend.
in the photo published Nicaraguan state media reported on Tuesday. El 19 Digital, Bishop Alvarez looks noticeably thinner and pale. These photos are the third released by the administration since the February ruling.
The photo was accompanied by an official press release, which included a list of “healthy” vital signs recorded during the medical examination, which reportedly took 15 minutes.
“Today, Tuesday, January 2, 2024, Rolando Álvarez Lagos underwent a re-examination by Dr. Yeser Rizo (physician) in the presence of Mr. Zhukov Serrano, Director General of the National Police, and Mr. Luis Barrantes. ” said an administration press release. read.
The press release went on to claim that Bishop Alvarez “expressed that he is feeling well and continues to exercise.”
“The doctor reported that Rolando Alvarez's vital signs and health condition were good. Blood tests were not performed because he was ingesting food,” the press release concluded.
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and his wife Vice President Rosario Murillo raise their fists during a ceremony commemorating the 51st anniversary of Pancasan guerrilla operations in Managua, August 29, 2018. (INTI OCON/AFP via Getty Images)
upon November 28th, Ortega's administration released more than 30 photos and videos of the bishop allegedly taken during several different family visits and medical examinations. The photo was released the day after Bishop Alvarez's 57th birthday.
upon March 23rd, Ortega's government released the first “living evidence” against Bishop Álvarez, who had not been seen since he was sentenced a month ago. The photos and videos followed mounting domestic and international pressure from human rights groups, activists and politicians demanding proof that the bishop was alive. Ortega's government allowed the priest to have lunch with two of his brothers under close supervision of prison guards.
In all of these episodes, Alvarez appears in a secure indoor “priority” visitor room. La Modelo This is not the high-security cell where Ortega's government is holding Alvarez.
Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) issued Tuesday's press release called on the Biden administration and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to seek the immediate and unconditional release of all members of the Nicaraguan Catholic Church who were wrongfully arrested by the Ortega administration.
Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) prepares for a press conference in the House Delta regarding the Belarusian Democracy Act of 2011, which imposes sanctions on Belarusian leaders complicit in human rights abuses. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
Smith led Congress hearing In December, several members of Nicaragua's Catholic Church who had experienced repression told congress their harrowing stories of how they were arrested, interrogated, tortured and brutalized by members of Ortega's government. explained in detail. The Sandinistas reportedly accused them of being part of an “organized crime” syndicate, which appears to mean the Catholic Church. Some witnesses said he was also accused of “hurting the dignity of the nation and Nicaragua” and spreading “fake news.”
The US Department of State released a press release statement Tuesday called on Ortega's government to immediately release Alvarez unconditionally.
We call on the Nicaraguan regime to immediately and unconditionally release Bishop Rolando Álvarez, who has been unjustly detained for 500 days. Freedom of religion is a human right. Mr. Alvarez's continued detention is unconscionable.
— Matthew Miller (@StateDeptSpox) January 2, 2024
Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church, says,dialogue” January 1, between the ruthless communist regime and his organization.
“I express my close feelings to them, their families, and the entire Church in Nicaragua in my prayers,” Pope Francis said. “I hope that we will follow the path of dialogue to overcome the difficulties.”
Although the Vatican has not played a major role in condemning church crackdowns in Nicaragua, local clergy have long denounced violence by the Sandinista state.
Mr. Ortega has continued to persecute the Catholic Church in the country after church leaders expressed support for anti-communist dissidents during a wave of peaceful protests in April 2018. During the event, thousands of Nicaraguans took to the streets to demand an end to 40 years of communist rule.
Since then, Ortega has led a relentless persecution motion Opposition to the Catholic Church in Nicaragua escalated dramatically in 2022, beginning with the expulsion of Archbishop Waldemar Stanisław Sommertag and other church members. Ortega's government also forcibly closed Catholic television and radio stations, banned Catholic festivals and processions, and seized church bank accounts, universities, and other assets.
Christian K. Caruso is a Venezuelan writer who chronicles life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
