Another political prisoner dies in custody

Dr Carlos Cárdenas Zepeda, a lawyer and Roman Catholic lay leader who was arbitrarily detained and held incommunicado from 13 August, died in custody on 29 August. He was the second political prisoner to die in detention in Nicaragua in the space of a week, following the passing of political activist Mauricio Alonso Petri on 25 August.

CSW sources report that Dr Cárdenas’ wife received a phone call on 29 August informing her that she should collect her husband’s body from the Institute of Legal Medicine. She was instructed to bury him immediately, prohibited from holding any funeral services, and was not provided with a death certificate or cause of death. His coffin had already been sealed upon collection.

Dr Cárdenas was a prominent lawyer and member of the Bella Cruz Parish in Ciudad Sandino, Managua, who had worked for two decades in public service. In 2018 he was hired by the Roman Catholic Episcopal Conference of Nicaragua (CEM) to advise them during negotiations with the government in the aftermath of the April 2018 protests.

On 20 August 2018 he was kidnapped by paramilitaries and police in front of his ten-year-old daughter. He was subsequently detained until 2019. Whilst in detention he was subjected to torture, beatings, and repeated threats that his wife and youngest daughter would be sexually assaulted.

He continued to experience severe harassment after his release. In 2020 his law degree was revoked, causing him to become unemployed. He was forced to sell his house for financial support. In 2021, his father died at the Hospital Alemán (German Hospital) in Managua where he was refused medical attention for COVID-19.

In 2023 Dr Cárdenas was detained and charged with violating national sovereignty and cybercrime by a court in Managua. He was required to present himself daily at his local police station.

According to the international Argentine newspaper Infobae, Dr Cárdenas is the sixth political prisoner to have died in custody in Nicaragua since 2019.

CSW’s Director of Advocacy Anna Lee Stangl said: ‘CSW extends our sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of Dr Cárdenas Zepeda, the second political prisoner to have died within the space of a week while in the custody of the Nicaraguan government. We call on the authorities to allow for an independent investigation into the cause of death of Dr Cárdenas and all other prisoners who have similarly died while detained, including Mauricio Alonso Petri. Those who are responsible for their deaths must be held to account. We urge members of the international community to press for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners in Nicaragua.’