An exiled prisoner of conscience from Nicaragua instructed members of the US Congress that he was arrested with out a warrant, bare and subjected to a number of interrogations about Bishop Rolando Álvarez, who was sentenced to greater than 20 years in jail for sermons criticizing the human rights violations of the authorities

The unnamed witness was one of two exiled prisoners of conscience to supply their testimony earlier than Thursday’s US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations. hearing.

With the listening to entitled “Urgent Call To Let Bishop Álvarez Go”, witnesses known as on President Daniel Ortega to launch him.

Both witnesses are members of the Catholic Church at the moment dwelling in exile as a consequence of legal convictions by the regime. They shared their tales to assist advocate for the bishop’s launch. Their names have been withheld for safety causes.

In February, a court docket sentenced the bishop to 26 years in jail and issued a nice of virtually 5,000 USD. Álvarez was stripped of his citizenship and located responsible of “undermining national integrity” and “spreading false news”. He was additionally discovered responsible of “aggravated obstruction of functions” and “violation of contempt for authority.”

According to the witness known as Exiled Prisoner of Conscience #2, the injustices in opposition to believers worsened in April 2018 after armed paramilitary teams and police violently shut down an illustration of younger folks protesting the authorities’s social safety reforms.

Álvarez and a few of his clergy defended the protesters, in line with the witness, who recalled that the church buildings served as a refuge for younger folks “feeling oppression” by the police and ruling celebration members.

The witness stated that he was kidnapped by the National Police of Nicaragua, who didn’t current an arrest warrant earlier than handing him over to the Auxilio Judicial jail in Managua. Once there, the exiled prisoner stated he was stripped and compelled to put on a jail uniform.

“That same day the interrogations started, there were more than 30 interrogations that could take place at any time of the day, even in the early hours of the morning,” stated the witness.

“They blackmailed me and threatened the lives of my relatives because they wanted me to declare that the bishop was a member of an organization that wanted to promote a coup against Daniel Ortega and that he received money from the American government and the European Union,” he continued .Â

In February, the unnamed witness stated that he and 222 others, most of them political prisoners, members of human rights organizations and clergymen imprisoned for defending human rights, had been exiled from Nicaragua.

The different unnamed witness, known as Exiled Prisoner of Conscience #1, testified that he was arrested in the road by two law enforcement officials and 6 members of the safety forces. He was later transferred to El Chipote jail.Â

While he was imprisoned, the exiled Nicaraguan stated he was additionally questioned about Álvarez, together with how a lot cash he allegedly obtained from the US authorities and the European Union. The interrogators additionally requested what worship leaders mentioned throughout parish conferences and whether or not they used this as a chance to unhealthy mouth the authorities.

“I was accused of undermining the dignity of the state and of Nicaragua, of spreading fake news,” stated the exiled witness.

The listening to additionally had testimonies from a dad or mum of a prisoner of conscience and Deborah Ullmer, the regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean Programs at the National Democratic Institute.

During her testimony, Ullmer named actions the U.S. authorities might take to advertise democracy in Nicaragua, similar to working with Latin American international locations and U.S. allies to advertise democratic reform in the nation.

In his opening remarks, Rep. Chris Smith, RN.J., a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, known as for Ortega to launch Álvarez from jail and permit him to journey to the United States or the Vatican.

He famous that 12 clergymen final month who had been imprisoned in Nicaragua had been despatched to the Vatican in exile. Smith questioned why the bishop was not amongst them.

At the starting of July, the newspaper divergent reported that Álvarez met with a consultant of the Vatican who tried to steer him to be exiled to Rome, which he reportedly refused, demanding his unconditional launch. Â

In statementBishop David J. Malloy, chairman of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace, cited “another breakdown in negotiations.”

Smith highlighted a video of Álvarez launched by the Nicaraguan authorities this week. The congressman expressed concern about the bishop’s obvious weight reduction. Smith questioned if the bishop was fed sufficient in La Modelo, which the congressman described as “one of the most notorious prisons in Latin America.”

“The international community can no longer turn a blind eye to what is happening to the people of Nicaragua, including and especially people of faith,” Smith stated.

“The regime closed Catholic radio stations and universities, prevented access to religious services, banned public processions from the Way of the Cross and froze the bank accounts of hundreds of Catholic institutions,” he added.

The lawmaker stated prisoners had their requests for Bibles denied. He pointed to the Nicaraguan authorities’s expulsion of the Missionaries of Charity – an order based by Mother Teresa – as one other assault on non secular freedom.

In a statement supplied Tuesday to The Christian Post by Alliance Defending Freedom International, the authorized advocacy group stated it filed a petition in September on behalf of Álvarez with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. ADF is ready for a response.Â

“For simply fulfilling his duties as a bishop and preaching about the teachings of Christ and the Catholic Church, Bishop Álvarez was unjustly convicted and imprisoned,” Kristina Hjelkrem, authorized counsel for Latin America for ADF International and the lead legal professional for the bishop. case, stated in an announcement.Â

“The United States Congress must strongly condemn the actions of the Nicaraguan government against Bishop Rolando Alvarez and strongly recommend that Nicaragua fulfill its human rights obligations by releasing the bishop from prison and restoring his full rights,” she concluded.