Dear friends of Nicaragua,
At the end of what has been a turbulent and violent year for the world, we write hoping that 2024 will bring peace and justice to the many places in the world that are suffering from war, conflict and authoritarian violence and repression.
We know you are probably inundated with year-end letters and fundraising requests, but the holidays are some of the hardest times for political prisoners and their families, so we are hoping we can collectively accompany and support them.
This is now the 6th consecutive year that Nicaraguans have had to campaign for a "Christmas without political prisoners." There are currently at least 91 Nicaraguan political prisoners in the country's jails and prisons, and at least another 60 who are being held under house arrest.
Although press coverage and international pressure have diminished since the February 2022 release/banishment to the U.S. of 222 political prisoners –including presidential candidates, priests, well-known leaders like Dora María Téllez and former ambassadors and government ministers– new arrests and jailings of "regular" citizens have continued and increased.
- Read here an inside account of the U.S. government's Feb 2022 operation to airlift the prisoners out of Nicaragua and get them to the U.S.
- A well-loved university professor, Freddy Quezada, was abducted and detained a couple of weeks ago. His whereabouts are still unknown. Here is more information about Freddyand a petition that you can sign to demand his and all the political prisoners' freedom, among them Monsignor Rolando Alvarez, the Catholic bishop condemned to 26 years in prison for supposed "treason."
The socioeconomic and psychosocial toll on the families of political prisoners is huge. According to a recent study by the Legal Defense Unit (UDJ) which is part of the Mechanism for the Recognition of Political Prisoners (sorry this site is only in Spanish):
- The unjust imprisonment of political prisoners in Nicaragua has a direct impact on the quality of life of the [prisoners'] families, who assume a monthly expense of at least 6,900 cordobas (about US$196), between food and medicine packages and transportation.
- Some 73% percent of the political prisoners were heads of household at the time of their capture and represented a significant percentage of the family income.
- 82% of political prisoners suffer from some medical condition as a result of poor prison conditions and torture or ill-treatment by the dictatorship's guards and police officers.
- At least 68 direct relatives of 31 political prisoners had to move from their homes due to the threats and harassment they experienced after the arrest of their relatives.
Thank you so much to those who have made small and large contributions to the family support fund this year and over the past couple of years. As the number of political prisoners increases, the need for funds increases. This year, after the release of the 222 prisoners, the fund continues to function.with support by your donations and others received from Europe. We have has gone from supporting 35 families to now supporting 82 families who need financial aid with a monthly stipend of 3,000 cordobas (around $83). That's some $6,800 a month.
If you can find it in your hearts and pocketbooks to contribute, we and the prisoners and their families would greatly appreciate both the financial and moral support, as we are running out of funds to be able to continue in 2024.
Please give what you can and ask others to do the same:
- Send a one-time donation or make a monthly pledge. Pledges are matched by an anonymous donor.
- $85 supports the family of a prisoner of conscience for a month
- There are several ways to send money:
- Paypal, Venmo, Zelle: nicfamsup@gmail.com (Jill Winegardner, treasurer)
- Send a check to: Nica Family Support, c/o Tori Baker, 15047 W. 68th Pl., Arvada, CO, 80007.
- If you want a tax deduction for a contribution of $500 or more, reply to us at this email and we'll let you know how to do that.
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In other news:
- At the end of October, Rosario Murillo began a purge of Nicaragua's Supreme Court and the Judiciary branch, starting with the Sandinista president of the Supreme Court. More than 900 officials –10% of the Judiciary's personnel and most of them FSLN members– were fired over the course of two weeks, having been considered not sufficiently "loyal" to the presidential couple.
- On November 18, Miss Nicaragua, Sheynnis Palacios, was crowned Miss Universe, the first time a Nicaraguan (or even Central American) has ever won the title. Many of us may not be fans of Miss Universe pageants, but this one was special. When Sheynnis won, Nicaraguans all around the world went wild, and in Nicaragua, people poured into the streets to celebrate and to wave the national flag – both of which have been prohibited since the end of 2018. These spontaneous celebrations made the regime quite nervous, with Rosario Murillo calling them part of a "destructive coup mentality" and leading to a renewed crackdown, with more banishments, incarcerations and threats, including prohibiting public employees from even mentioning Miss Universe. Even the New York Times has covered the crackdown.
- Then on November 19, Nicaragua's withdrawal from the Organization of American States (OAS) went into effect, leaving it even more internationally isolated.
- And just this month, Nicaragua expelled the International Red Cross Committeefrom the country. In May, the government shut down the Nicaraguan Red Cross Association. This new move against the International office is even more serious, as in terms of limiting potential international aid in times of disasters.
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Thank you for your continued support to the Nicaraguan people and their struggle for freedom, human rights, democracy and justice.
- If you are interested in finding out about more ways to support the families of Nicaraguan political prisoners, please contact Tori Baker at support@nicafamilysupport.org for details or use Messenger on Facebook. Website www.nicafamilysupport.org (Check us out!)
- If you are interested in receiving weekly news bulletins on Nicaragua, you can subscribe to the following by clicking on the links below:
Here's hoping for a more peaceful and just 2024
Your friends at the the Nicaraguan Family Support Fund
& el Grupo de Apoyo a Familiares de Personas Presas Políticas
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