Andy Drozdziak
Catholic peer Lord Alton has convened an inquiry into the suppression of religious freedom, media freedom and opposition voices in Nicaragua, with Bianca Jagger providing its opening testimony.
Commenting on the Inquiry, Lord Alton said: “It is a privilege to convene such an impressive panel of expert parliamentarians to look into the credible reports of human rights violations in Nicaragua, particularly human rights violations that may meet the legal definition of crimes against humanity.”
President Daniel Ortega’s regime has persecuted the Catholic Church in Nicaragua, targetting church leaders who have criticised his government. Among them, Bishop Rolando Álvarez was sentenced in February 2023 to 26 years in prison the day after he refused to be deported to the U.S. with more than 200 other Nicaraguan political prisoners. Pope Francis publicly denounced Bishop Álvarez’s sentence.
On 8th February 2024, in the UK Parliament, an inquiry was launched under the auspices of three All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs), to consider the situation in Nicaragua and the ever-growing suppression of the rights of religious leaders and institutions, the media and the opposition, and to identify steps that can be taken by the UK Government, and other States, to address this.
Lord Alton said that former actress Bianca Jagger, the first wife of Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger, described how “the Ortega-Murillo regime has been perpetrating crimes against humanity” in her testimony.
She described Nicaragua as ‘probably one of the worst dictatorships in the world today’ and explained that the persecution of bishops, priests, nuns, and seminarians, is because ‘the Catholic Church is the last bastion of opposition left in Nicaragua.’
The parliamentary groups involved are the APPGs on Central America, International Freedom of Religion and Belief, and International Law, Justice, and Accountability. The APPGs are made up of cross-party parliamentarians, including from the government and opposition parties, from both houses, with expertise and interest in these areas.
The Nicaragua Inquiry includes leading human rights parliamentarians including Lord Alton of Liverpool, Baroness Kennedy of the Shaws KC, Baroness Hooper, Mark Menzies MP, Brendan O’Hara MP, Philip Mounstephen – Bishop of Winchester (author of the Truro Independent Review into the Persecution of Christians), and Fiona Bruce MP, the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief.
From February to 10th March 2024, evidence will be collected, leading to the launch of a report in April 2024 about the Inquiry’s findings.
Former congressman and prolific Commissioner with the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USIRF), Frank Wolf, addressed the Inquiry. He described the ‘purging’ of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua, and highlighted USCIRF’s designation of Nicaragua as ‘a country of particular concern’ because of the dire legacy on the right to freedom of religion or belief in the country.
Other witnesses provided testimonies, with the assurance of anonymity. Further evidence sessions will be conducted this month, as well as analyses of written submissions of evidence.