More than 200 Nicaraguan prisoners freed and sent to US

Washington DC describes move as a ‘constructive step’ towards improving human rights

More than 200 political prisoners in Nicaragua were released and flown to the United States on Thursday, including some leading critics of Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega, in what Washington DC described as a “constructive step” towards improving human rights.

The mass release “opens the door to further dialogue between the United States and Nicaragua regarding issues of concern,” US secretary of state Antony Blinken said.

Washington has denounced Ortega's re-election in 2021 as a "sham" after the long-ruling leader jailed numerous opponents ahead of the vote.

A Nicaraguan judge denounced the 222 prisoners as “traitors” in a televised statement, and said they had been “deported”.

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Among those let out of prison were former presidential hopefuls Juan Sebastián Chamorro, Félix Maradiaga, Miguel Mora, Medardo Mairena and Arturo Cruz, as well as prominent student activist Lesther Alemán, a Nicaraguan judicial document showed.

“Some of these individuals have spent years in prison, many of them for exercising their fundamental freedoms, in awful conditions and with no access to due process,” said a US state department spokesperson.

Mr Blinken said that dual citizen Michael Healy, who had been given a 13-year prison sentence, was also released. The former inmates landed at Dulles International Airport near Washington shortly before 12pm local time on Thursday.

Ortega’s administration has in recent years detained dozens of political opponents, journalists, and religious figures, sparking international accusations about a lack of due process and poor prison conditions.

The released prisoners will go through the humanitarian parole process, the Biden administration said in a note to Congress. It added that the Nicaraguan government had made “its own decision” to release the prisoners, and urged further steps to protect human rights in Nicaragua. – Reuters