The United Nations Human Rights Office released a report on Wednesday criticizing Nicaragua’s human rights record saying Police and authorities in Nicaragua have used “unacceptable” lethal force against civilian in the wake of a wave of anti-government protests.
According to the document, more than 300 people have been killed since anti-government protests in the beleaguered Central American nation began in April.
On Monday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned groups linked to Nicaragua’s government for using “unacceptable” lethal force against citizens, and urged an end to the violence.
“A wide range of human rights violations are being committed including extrajudicial killings, torture, arbitrary detentions, and denying people the right to freedom of expression,” UN human rights spokesman Rupert Colville told a news briefing.
“The level of brutality in some of these episodes, including burning, amputations and desecration of corpses illustrates the serious degeneration of the crisis,” the report said.
The report documented human rights violations between April 18 and Aug. 18, including the disproportionate use of force and extrajudicial killings by the Nicaraguan police, disappearances, widespread arbitrary detentions and instances of torture and sexual violence in detention centers.
The report notes that in the initial stage, the police and pro-Government armed elements responded harshly to protests. During the “clean-up” stage, from mid-June to mid-July, they forcibly dismantled roadblocks and barricades – according to information obtained, armed elements often acted in coordination with high-level State authorities and the National Police.
The UN Human Rights Office says that information it has obtained”strongly indicates that these armed elements acted with the acquiescence of high-level state authorities and the national police, often in a joint and coordinated manner”.
> Shatabdi Sarker Poushi
UN Criticizes Nicaragua Government to End ‘Repression and Torture’
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