Nicaragua: Where religious persecution continues unabated

By Kristina Hjelkrem, Op-ed contributor Thursday, October 05, 2023

Nicaraguan Catholic bishop Rolando Alvarez prays at the Santo Cristo de Esquipulas church in Managua, on May 20, 2022. - Alvarez, a strong critic of Daniel Ortega's government, started on Thursday a hunger strike in protest against what he considers a persecution and police siege against him. | STR/AFP via Getty Images

Everyone concerned with basic human rights should be outraged by the crisis endured by people of faith in Nicaragua. For living in accordance with their convictions, the faithful in Nicaragua are being silenced and imprisoned. The time for international action is now.

For simply fulfilling his duties as a Catholic pastor by preaching on human dignity and God-given freedoms, and denouncing the injustices that contravene these freedoms, Bishop Rolando Álvarez has been unjustly imprisoned and labeled as a criminal. No person should be targeted by the state for sharing their faith, and the actions of the Nicaraguan government are in clear violation of Bishop Álvarez’s human rights to both religious freedom and free speech.

President Daniel Ortega and his regime notoriously wields their power to suppress anyone or any entity who dares to challenge the regime. The regime has set its sights on the Catholic Church, openly and systematically targeting religious orders, media, schools, leaders, and ordinary people of faith who dare to speak out against the abuses perpetrated by the government.

One of the many, and perhaps best known, victims of state-sponsored persecution is Bishop Álvarez. For peacefully standing up and speaking out against the Ortega regime’s abuses, the bishop currently is serving a 26-year prison sentence. Convicted in a sham trial, there are no effective avenues for justice available in Nicaragua.

In my capacity as legal counsel for Latin America with ADF International, I was honored to file the Bishop’s case at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on September 12th, petitioning the body to demand his release from the Nicaraguan government. Urgent action from the Commission — with a mandate to protect and promote human rights throughout Latin America — is essential for justice in his case.

The Nicaraguan government’s attack on Bishop Álvarez escalated in August 2022, when police prevented him from leaving his residence to celebrate Mass. For 15 days, he was forcibly detained, along with several other members of the church. After this ordeal and without a warrant, police arrested Bishop Álvarez, charging him with “undermining national integrity” and “propagation of false news.” He was charged based on statements he had made in his sermons at the church pulpit that denounced the human rights violations perpetrated by the Ortega regime.

Before his trial, the government attempted to exile Bishop Álvarez to the United States. Bishop Álvarez garnered international attention when he refused an exile offer from the government, choosing to stay and bear witness alongside his people.

After refusing this offer, Bishop Álvarez later was convicted of these charges during a sham “trial” that he was not aware of and therefore did not attend. Adding insult to very serious injury, he was blocked from appointing his own lawyer, and later his lawyer was barred from accessing basic information about the charges he faced, despite repeated requests. After being denied any kind of due process, Bishop Álvarez ultimately was sentenced to 26 years imprisonment and stripped of his citizenship having been deemed a “traitor” to the state. He currently is in the seventh month of his sentence, and has been deprived of contact with his family and lawyers, apart from a publicity stunt organized for state media, leading many around the world to question and raise concern for his well-being.

Most recently, the bishop has been nominated for the European Parliament’s top human rights award. This is a man whose incredible courage and fidelity to the truth rightfully has captured international attention.

The Inter-American Commission should take note. As he languishes in jail, we must pray for the bishop and his strength, but also it is imperative that the international community act now to end this blatant violation of human rights. It’s time to free Bishop Álvarez and stop religious persecution in Nicaragua.

Kristina Hjelkrem serves as legal counsel for Latin America with ADF International, which has petitioned the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on the case of Nicaraguan bishop Rolando Álvarez.