For his refusal to comply with the Managua Court of Appeals’ deportation order, the prelate was found in contempt of authority, which added to his sentence. Álvarez is reportedly being held in a maximum security cell.
“We call on the State of Nicaragua to unconditionally release the 37 people who are still arbitrarily deprived of their liberty, including Bishop Álvarez, whose state of health is unknown,” stated the OHCHR in a March 3 update on the situation in Nicaragua.
The U.N. agency also urged the Daniel Ortega regime to “restore citizenship and other civil, political, social, and economic rights to the more than 300 people affected by the recent decisions.”
Other human rights violations in Nicaragua
The update also reported various human rights violations in trials initiated between January and February against people “arbitrarily detained since August 2022.”
“This includes hearings behind closed doors, denying some defendants their right to a lawyer of their choice and to meet with him or her in private, and access to the complete files on their cases,” the U.N. office charged.