Nicaragua’s ex-Political Prisoners Reject “Electoral Farce”
HAVANA TIMES – The Group of Reflection of Political Prisoners of Nicaragua (GREX), issued a statement saying they will not support any candidate that participates in the elections in November of this year. They called the process an “electoral farce” due to the political persecution and lack of conditions.
“The dictatorship has entered its most ruthless stage within the political scene and has given clear and forceful signs of not wanting to give way to democracy. Therefore, the Group of Reflection of Political Prisoners DOES NOT SUPPORT THE ELECTORAL FARCE. Nor will we participate in any act that suggests some degree of legitimacy to this regime that has persecuted us and violated our rights,” states GREX in its statement.
They recalled the murder of the political prisoner Eddy Montes, which occurred on May 16, 2019, when Montes was in Tipitapa’s Modelo prison. A guard shot him and the crime remains unpunished, so “in his memory and in his honor the ex-political prisoners organized in GREX WILL NOT SUPPORT ANY CANDIDATE FROM ANY PARTY IN THE CONTEST, under the current electoral conditions,” affirms part of the statement from the ex-political prisoners.
Similarly, they point out that the dictatorship has all the cards in its favor, and has focused on harassing different sectors of society, such as doctors, teachers, social and political organizations and movements.
“Once again, they resort to a series of satellite parties, acronyms for opportunists and agents of the dictatorship, who try to sell the idea that there is political pluralism in Nicaragua, the statement asserts.
They highlighted the “growing exodus” of Nicaraguans, among them ex-political prisoners and denounced that they “have not had adequate international protection.”
“Recently some ‘express’ deportations have taken place, in which they were not allowed to show concrete evidence. With concern we warn that among the refugee applicants expelled from US territory, last week, there were at least 3 ex-political prisoners belonging to GREX, who today are exposed to serious economic and security problems in a foreign country. The dangerous situation that ex-political prisoner Julio Ampie and his family went through is a concrete example of these risks,” GREX stated.
Additionally, they demand the release of the 149 political prisoners that the Ortega regime currently holds.
“We demand the release of all political prisoners; we condemn the inhumane treatment by the regime of the male and female political prisoners who are in jails in Nicaragua, either as convicted or under investigation. All without exception deserve to live and express themselves in total freedom and should not be subjected to deprivations that endanger their lives.”