Nicaragua withdraws citizenship of 94 other critics in Nicaragua expatriates dissident writers, journalists and clerics

Nicaragua’s authoritarian government is also increasingly pressuring its critics abroad. Following the deportation and displacement of 222 opposition prisoners, the judiciary in the Central American country on Wednesday (local time) revoked the citizenship of 94 other people already living in exile. Expats also include the well-known writer Sergio Ramírez and the internationally renowned author Gioconda Belli. All had been expatriated for high treason, said the president of the Court of Appeal in the capital Managua.

Diplomats, journalists, human rights activists, politicians and Catholic bishop Silvio Báez have also been affected. “The defendants continue to commit criminal acts at the expense of the peace, sovereignty, independence and self-determination of the Nicaraguan people,” the judge said. They have also been accused of spreading false news and undermining national integrity. Their property must be confiscated.

Ramírez, winner of the Spanish Cervantes Literature Prize in 2017, and Belli (among others «Inhabited woman») live in exile in Spain. Both were companions of the current president Daniel Ortega in the 1970s in the struggle of the left-wing Sandinistas against the dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza. After the fall of Somoza in 1979, Ortega and Ramírez became members of the five-member ruling junta. Then, in 1985, Ortega took over the presidency while Ramírez became vice president. They were voted out in 1990.

Ortega returned to power as head of state and government in 2007 and has ruled continuously since then. His wife Rosario Murillo has been vice president since 2017. The ex-guerrilla and his wife use increasingly harsh methods against critics. In 2018, more than 350 people were killed in anti-government protests. Before his controversial re-election in 2021, Ortega had seven competing candidates arrested. 3,000 non-governmental organizations lost their accreditation.

Last week, Ortega deported to the United States nearly all of the detainees held in Nicaragua for political reasons, according to human rights activists. They were also deprived of their citizenship. Bishop Rolando Álvarez, who was under house arrest, refused to be deported. The next day he was sentenced to 26 years in prison. According to media reports, the cleric is now being held in a small cell under harsh prison conditions. (aeg/sda/dpa)