Nicaragua: Writer and academic Freddy Quezada released and forced into exile along with 134 political prisoners, including journalists and artists

“We welcome the release of those who were unjustly imprisoned and forced into exile by the Nicaraguan authorities in an attempt to silence an entire country. Our global community will continue to highlight and denounce repressive actions against journalists, authors, cultural workers and media outlets who are threatened and harassed for their work and critical expression. Their attempts to silence criticism will not silence the truth”. Burhan Sonmez, President of PEN International.

13 September 2024: On 5 September 2024, the Nicaraguan authorities released 135 political prisoners and deported them to Guatemala. Included among those released is writer and academic Freddy Antonio Quezada, artists Kevin Laguna Guevara and Óscar Parrilla Blandón, and journalist Víctor Ticay.

Writer, philosopher and academic, Freddy Antonio Quezada was arrested at his home on 29 November 2023, just hours after writing social media posts that were critical of the Nicaraguan government. He was subsequently transferred to the Jorge Navarro Penitentiary System in Tipitapa, known as ‘La Modelo’. The family members were repeatedly refused information as to Quezada's legal status.

On 27 December 2023, the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights granted Freddy Quezada precautionary measures. On 2 July 2024, the Inter-American Court amplified the precautionary measures and, on 3 September 2024, the Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nicaragua referred to Quezada’s imprisonment as a possible case of enforced disappearance. Following his release two days later, Freddy Antonio Quezada said that the main evidence presented by the government for his alleged crime was his liking of a post on social media concerning Sheyniss Palacios, who had recently been awarded Miss Universe 2023.

Nicaraguan journalist Víctor Ticay was arrested on 6 April 2023 for covering a religious procession and sentenced to eight years' imprisonment for ‘disseminating false information and conspiracy to destabilise national integrity’. Artists Kevin Laguna and Óscar Parrila were arrested in the northern city of Estelí on 22 November 2023 while painting a mural of Sheynnis Palacios.

While the international community welcomes the release of 135 detainees, Nicaraguan journalists, writers and cultural workers are increasingly concerned about journalist and cultural worker Fabiola Tercero, whose whereabouts remain unknown, following a police raid on her home on 12 July 2024. Fabiola Tercero run El Rincón de Fabi, a cultural space for the free exchange of books.

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

Since the beginning of 2024, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has observed an exponential increase in the use of various forms of harassment to silence independent journalists, including arbitrary arrests, home visits that are often followed by daily summons to police stations, forced exile (often coupled with attempts to prevent their return to the country), and the cancellation of the legal status of independent media.

Due to the escalation of repression and censorship by the Nicaraguan authorities, which has intensified since 2018, more than 56 media outlets have been shut down and more than 277 journalists have been forced into exile. More than 5,000 NGOs have been closed by the government, including PEN Nicaragua and the Nicaraguan Academy of Language.

PEN International reminds the Nicaraguan authorities of its obligations under International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, in which individuals deprived of their personal integrity must have their rights respected, including access to counsel, and to be held in an official place of detention.

PEN International, furthermore, reiterates its call to Nicaragua to stop its relentless repression against journalists, media, cultural actors, writers and those who for using their words and critical ideas are victims of attacks and persecution; also, to cease judicial, police, and institutional harassment against those exercising their rights to free expression and peaceful demonstration, including those who are critical of government policy. We urge the Nicaraguan authorities to provide information on the whereabouts of Fabiola Tercero.

For more information on the situation in Nicaragua, read: War, Censorship and Persecution: PEN International Case List 2023/2024.

Note to Editors:

For more information, please contact Alicia Quiñones, Head of the Americas Region, at PEN International, email: alicia.quinones@pen-international.org