Roman Catholic lay leaders released into house arrest

Roman Catholic lay leaders Carmen María Sáenz Martínez and Lesbia del Socorro Gutiérrez Poveda were released into house arrest in Matagalpa, Nicaragua, after spending nearly 16 months in incommunicado detention, on 29 November.

The two women were detained on 10 August 2024. Ms Gutiérrez Poveda, who was 58 years old at the time, was arrested by at least 15 police officers wearing ski masks and carrying AK-47s who raided her home in Lomas de Santo Tomas in Matagalpa City at approximately 6am. Ms Sáenz Martínez, then age 49, was detained two hours later at the Guadalupana Farm in Samulali in the San Ramón Municipality by police in two patrol cars.

Both women worked with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Matagalpa, formerly led by the now exiled Bishop Rolando José Álvarez Lagos. The two were believed to be being held in La Esperanza women’s prison, but were denied any contact with their families or lawyers – including proof of life – for the duration of their detention. They have not been charged, tried or sentenced for any crime.

The two were among a small group of political prisoners released into house arrest over the weekend of 29-30 November. Other prominent political prisoners, including Protestant pastor Efrén Antonio Vílchez López, and Pastor Rudy Palacios Vargas and several of his friends and family, have not been released.

CSW’s Director of Advocacy and Americas Team Leader Anna Lee Stangl said: ‘While neither Carmen María Sáenz Martínez nor Lesbia del Socorro Gutiérrez Poveda should be under house arrest, this nonetheless marks an improvement on the incommunicado detention and solitary confinement in a maximum-security prison to which they were subjected for over a year. We call on the government of Nicaragua to grant them their full freedom without condition, and to immediately release all remaining political prisoners including Pastor Efrén Antonio Vílchez López, and Pastor Rudy Palacios Vargas and those detained alongside him.’