At the request of the Socialists and Democrats, the European Parliament will today debate the worrying situation in Nicaragua. In April 2018, a brutal crackdown on civic anti-government protests left 328 people dead, among them 24 children. Many more have been arbitrarily jailed or put under house arrest; tortured or arbitrarily prosecuted; dismissed from their job or dispelled from university. More than 100.000 Nicaraguans have since fled their home country. Today’s plenary debate will be followed up by a resolution.

Javi López, S&D MEP and co-president of EUROLAT said:

“We call on Daniel Ortega to stop the terror campaign against his own people. Opposition parties, journalists and human rights defenders are suffering under the systematic and brutal repression by Nicaraguan authorities. To date, more than 125* human rights defenders, opposition leaders, and even five potential presidential candidates, are detained. We request the authorities to provide an immediate proof of life and whereabouts of those arbitrarily imprisoned, and guarantee their basic rights, such as contact with lawyers and with their families.”

Maria Manuel Leitão Marques, S&D MEP and EUROLAT coordinator, said:

“Only dialogue and democracy can solve the deep political, economic and social crisis Nicaragua has been thrown into by the Ortega regime. The onslaught of the Covid-19 pandemic has further aggravated the situation for the people who struggle with poverty, unemployment and access to basic services.”

"We urge that the Nicaraguan authorities make changes to the Electoral Law in accordance with international parameters, respecting the right of Nicaraguans to elect and be elected, and to guarantee the unrestricted presence of national and international electoral observation bodies, re-establishing all the rights and freedoms that make possible a free, credible and equitable electoral process.”