Mothers of April Demand Justice for Crimes against Humanity

The Mothers of April Association, made up of mothers and relatives of the victims of the police and paramilitary repression of the protests against the Government of Daniel Ortega, demand that those responsible for these deaths be tried for crimes against humanity.

In a manifesto issued on Wednesday, the Mothers of April call for a mechanism that “allows the trial and punishment of the perpetrators and intellectual authors of crimes against humanity and human rights violations.”

According to local and international human rights organizations, official repression during the sociopolitical crisis has left at least 325 dead and more than 550 political prisoners.

• Download and read (in Spanish only) the full statement here

The Government recognizes 199 dead and 273 prisoners, whom it calls “terrorists,” “coup promoters,” and “common criminals.”

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The Mothers of April also ask for the release of “all political prisoners,” and that “harassment, intimidation, stigmatization, criminalization, judicialization, dismissals, expulsion from schools and universities, and any other type of reprisal,” against the people—who participated in demonstrations against the president—immediately ceases.

An independent special prosecutor’s office

The Mothers of April request the setting up of an independent special prosecutor’s office, the protection of the surviving victims, the “transparent” dismantling of “paramilitary” forces, the cessation of all types of repression, and the compliance of international laws by the Nicaraguan government.

In its manifesto, the Association emphasizes that the truth of the murder of their children be revealed, that there be justice in every case, the comprehensive reparation for the survivors and the construction of a social memory so that in Nicaragua something similar never happens again.