Freddy Antonio QUEZADA

Writer and academic Freddy Antonio Quezada was among 135 political prisoners released by the Nicaraguan authorities  on 5 September 2024 and deported to Guatemala. He had been held since his arrest on 29 November 2023, hours after writing social media posts critical of the Nicaraguan government (see Case List 2023/2024). On 24 January 2024, he was reportedly convicted behind closed doors of ‘disturbing the public order and inciting hatred and violence,’ but said after his release that he was never told his sentence. PEN International welcomed his release but called for an end to repression of writers and artists in Nicaragua.  

On 9 November 2024, the Nicaraguan Court of Justice declared that the 135 exiled prisoners would be stripped of their citizenship and have all their assets confiscated after being convicted of ‘criminal acts threatening the sovereignty, independence and self-determination of the Nicaraguan people.’  

Freddy Quezada is a sociologist, academic and guide for several generations of university students. He is the author of books such as El Pensamiento Contemporáneo and Decolonialidad y Emancipación Como Jazz Epistémico.