CSW calls for immediate release of human rights defender

CSW is calling for proof of life and the immediate release of Ricardo Antonio García Gómez, a Nicaraguan Roman Catholic human rights defender, who was arbitrarily detained on 27 November by the National Police. Mr García Gómez, who is from Bluefields in the Southern Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region, had been in hiding since 2022 and was captured while he was ill and had gone to visit his mother.

Mr García Gómez had only been in the home of Maryluz Gómez Bravo for a few hours when 12 riot police officers in three patrol cars forced their way into her home and searched the entire property, destroying furniture and breaking down doors. Mr García Gómez, who has a serious, long-term health condition, was forced into the back of a pickup truck and paraded through the main streets of Bluefields; he was sometimes forced to stand. The police later returned to Ms Gómez Bravo’s residence and ransacked the place again in an unsuccessful attempt to obtain Mr García Gómez’s mobile phone.

Witnesses later saw Mr García Gómez being transported by van in the direction of Managua. Numerous requests made by his mother and other relatives for information about Mr García Gómez’s whereabouts and wellbeing have gone unanswered. A request for precautionary measures has been submitted to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

Mr García Gómez, 46, is a long-time activist well known for defending land and human rights, including freedom of religion or belief, in the Southern Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region. That work and his participation in nationwide protests in 2018 made him a target of the government and forced him into hiding. Because of his designation as an opponent of the government, he was blocked from practicing as a lawyer or holding formal employment. During his two years in hiding, his mother’s house was under constant surveillance, and she was regularly subjected to interrogation despite her age. Mr García Gómez was also unable to attend religious services during this time, because churches in the Southern Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region are closely monitored by government intelligence agents and the police.

CSW’s Director of Advocacy Anna Lee Stangl said: ‘We demand the immediate release of Ricardo Antonio García Gómez and an end to the surveillance and harassment of his mother. Given his delicate state of health at the time of his arbitrary detention, we are gravely concerned for his well-being. We hold the Nicaraguan authorities responsible for his health while in their custody and urge them to ensure he receives adequate medical attention. Mr García Gómez has dedicated his life to defending the rights, including that of freedom of religion or belief, of his fellow citizens. It is unconscionable that the Nicaraguan government should target him because of his efforts to ensure that internationally recognised human rights are upheld.’

Note to Editors:

1. A precautionary measure is a protection mechanism of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), through which it requests a State to protect one or more persons who are in a serious and urgent situation from suffering irreparable harm.