Mauricio Alonso Prieto, a political activist who was detained alongside his wife and son during police raids in Jinotepe in Nicaragua’s Carazo Department, has died in detention. 

According the Segovia Institute for Leadership and Social Transformation, on 25 August Mr Alonso’s family received a call from the Institute of Forensic Medicine confirming his passing and that his body would be released to them, although the cause of his death remains unknown. 

Mr Alonso, his wife and adult son of the same name were detained in the early hours of 18 July as part of a co-ordinated police operation that had begun the previous evening. While Mr Alonso’s wife was released on the same day, he and his son remained in detention alongside at least six others, namely Protestant Pastor Rudy Palacios Vargas, the founder of La Roca de Nicaragua Church Association, who is thought to have been the principal target of the raids, Pastor Palacios Vargas’ sisters Arely Palacios Vargas and Jéssica Palacios Vargas, their husbands Pedro José López and Armando José Bermudez Mojica, and family friend Olga María Lara Rojas.  

The group were initially held incommunicado at the 3rd Police District. On 28 July the Nicaraguan news outlet 100% Noticias reported that they had been transferred to ‘La Granja’ (the farm), a notoriously overcrowded prison in Granada Department, where they had been subjected to a fast-tracked virtual hearing at which they were charged with treason and conspiracy.  

CSW’s Director of Advocacy Anna Lee Stangl said: ‘CSW extends our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Mauricio Alonso Prieto, who has tragically passed away whilst being subjected to a grave injustice at the hands of the Nicaraguan authorities. We urge members of the international community to make urgent representations to the Ortega-Murillo government demanding the immediate and unconditional release of all those who were unjustly detained, sentenced and imprisoned alongside Mr Alonso, including his son. We also call on the Nicaraguan authorities to provide full and detailed information as to what led to his death whilst in custody, and to make extensive reparations to Mr Alonso’s widow.’