By Ray Downs
May 30, 2018
MANAGUA, Nicaragua, May 30 (UPI) -- Amnesty International issued a report Tuesday detailing the Nicaraguan government's deadly response to recent protests that killed more than 70 people in the Central American nation.
In "Shoot to Kill: Nicaragua's Strategy to Repress Protest," the human rights group documents the use of police force, alleged extrajudicial killings by armed, pro-government groups and the repression and condemnation of news media since April 18, when violence against protesters began.
"The Nicaraguan authorities have turned on their own people in a vicious, sustained and frequently lethal assault on their rights to life, freedom of expression and peaceful assembly," said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International. "The government of President Ortega has then shamelessly tried to cover up these atrocities, violating the victims' rights to truth, justice and reparation."
After people began protesting across the country last month against a government plan to increase social security taxes while cutting benefits, police and armed pro-government groups began attacking protesters, resulting in 81 recorded deaths as of Tuesday, the report found. Most of those killed were college-age demonstrators. Two police officers were also included in the death toll.
Amnesty International's report documents a system of repression that went further than attacking protesters by denying medical care in public hospitals, obstructing investigations of deaths and vilifying protesters in media by blaming them for the violence.
One protester who was denied medical care was 15-year-old Álvaro Conrado, who was shot in the neck while handing out water in Managua on April 20. The teen's relatives told Amnesty International that he was denied medical attention at the government-run Cruz Azul Hospital before he was taken to a private hospital and died of his injuries.
Conrado's parents said he was buried without a forensic examination, that police prevented them from filing a complaint with a human rights center and unknown people destroyed his uncle's food stall.
"Álvaro's parents believe these actions were a threat in retaliation for their persistent complaints, which were publicized in the media," the report states. "They consider the response of the Attorney General's Office 'a farce.'"
Amnesty International's report documents several similar cases in which protesters were killed and investigations were hindered, followed by official denials.
The human rights group recommended the Nicaraguan government guarantee free expression and stop using excessive police force against protesters. It also recommends the public prosecutor's office and other law enforcement agencies initiate impartial and thorough investigations into the deaths and carry out due process.
Amnesty International is the latest human rights group to castigate the Nicaraguan government for its response to recent protests.
On May 21, the United Nations' Human Rights Office for Central America called for an immediate end of government repression in Nicaragua and to allow investigations into the protest violence.
Shortly after Amnesty International released its report Tuesday, the agency said it had still not received an answer from the Nicaraguan government on whether its investigators can enter the country.
Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2018/05/30/Amnesty-International-Nicaragua-used-lethal-strategy-on-protesters/4001527651754/.
May 30, 2018
MANAGUA, Nicaragua, May 30 (UPI) -- Amnesty International issued a report Tuesday detailing the Nicaraguan government's deadly response to recent protests that killed more than 70 people in the Central American nation.
In "Shoot to Kill: Nicaragua's Strategy to Repress Protest," the human rights group documents the use of police force, alleged extrajudicial killings by armed, pro-government groups and the repression and condemnation of news media since April 18, when violence against protesters began.
"The Nicaraguan authorities have turned on their own people in a vicious, sustained and frequently lethal assault on their rights to life, freedom of expression and peaceful assembly," said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International. "The government of President Ortega has then shamelessly tried to cover up these atrocities, violating the victims' rights to truth, justice and reparation."
After people began protesting across the country last month against a government plan to increase social security taxes while cutting benefits, police and armed pro-government groups began attacking protesters, resulting in 81 recorded deaths as of Tuesday, the report found. Most of those killed were college-age demonstrators. Two police officers were also included in the death toll.
Amnesty International's report documents a system of repression that went further than attacking protesters by denying medical care in public hospitals, obstructing investigations of deaths and vilifying protesters in media by blaming them for the violence.
One protester who was denied medical care was 15-year-old Álvaro Conrado, who was shot in the neck while handing out water in Managua on April 20. The teen's relatives told Amnesty International that he was denied medical attention at the government-run Cruz Azul Hospital before he was taken to a private hospital and died of his injuries.
Conrado's parents said he was buried without a forensic examination, that police prevented them from filing a complaint with a human rights center and unknown people destroyed his uncle's food stall.
"Álvaro's parents believe these actions were a threat in retaliation for their persistent complaints, which were publicized in the media," the report states. "They consider the response of the Attorney General's Office 'a farce.'"
Amnesty International's report documents several similar cases in which protesters were killed and investigations were hindered, followed by official denials.
The human rights group recommended the Nicaraguan government guarantee free expression and stop using excessive police force against protesters. It also recommends the public prosecutor's office and other law enforcement agencies initiate impartial and thorough investigations into the deaths and carry out due process.
Amnesty International is the latest human rights group to castigate the Nicaraguan government for its response to recent protests.
On May 21, the United Nations' Human Rights Office for Central America called for an immediate end of government repression in Nicaragua and to allow investigations into the protest violence.
Shortly after Amnesty International released its report Tuesday, the agency said it had still not received an answer from the Nicaraguan government on whether its investigators can enter the country.
Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2018/05/30/Amnesty-International-Nicaragua-used-lethal-strategy-on-protesters/4001527651754/.
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