Covering events from January - December 2003

Members of the National Police were responsible for ill-treatment. Children were victims of human rights violations, including sexual abuse and trafficking. A member of the judiciary was threatened as a result of her professional activities.

Background

Economic conditions did not improve generally for the mass of Nicaraguans who live in extreme poverty. Peasants and other sectors of society organized marches towards the capital, Managua, to call attention to their living conditions. There were several deaths as a result of long marches and lack of food; children were among the dead.

In June the government signed an impunity agreement with the USA providing that Nicaragua will not surrender US nationals accused of genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes to the International Criminal Court (ICC). The agreement, which breaches Nicaragua's obligations under international law, had not been ratified at the end of the year. Nicaragua has not signed the Rome Statute of the ICC.

Human rights violations by National Police members

Members of the National Police were involved in the ill-treatment of people in their custody. The image of the National Police was also tarnished by the involvement of some officers in illegal activities including drug trafficking.

  • In May, Saturnino Varela Escalante died as a result of being kicked by a police officer who had arrested him. The victim, who was reportedly disorderly at the time of arrest, was kicked in a police vehicle. By the time he arrived at the police station he was having difficulty breathing. He was taken to hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival. A post-mortem found that the cause of death was rupture of the heart's right auricle. The police officer who kicked Saturnino Varela Escalante went into hiding.

Children

The rape and subsequent pregnancy of a nine-year-old girl provoked national debate about violence against girls and reproductive rights. Sexual violence and trafficking of children were widely reported. Children, as well as women, were victims of domestic violence.

  • In February a nine-year-old Nicaraguan girl was raped in Costa Rica where her parents were working in the agricultural sector. She became pregnant. The family returned to Nicaragua where the case generated heated debates about abortion, which was being advocated in her case in view of her age and the danger for her physical and psychological well-being but strongly opposed by the Church. The abortion was eventually carried out. A 22-year-old man was arrested in Costa Rica but later conditionally released. Other girls, some as young as seven, were raped by family members or others.

Update: threats against judge

Judge Juana Méndez, in charge of the case against former President Arnoldo Alemán, reportedly received further threats following her decision that he should be transferred from house arrest to prison. Death threats against her seven brothers were made by unidentified men in August. Judge Méndez had been under police protection because of previous threats against her and her family. Arnoldo Alemán was on trial on charges including fraud, embezzlement and electoral crimes. He persisted unsuccessfully with attempts to claim immunity from prosecution. In August he was moved from house arrest to a cell in the headquarters of the National Police in Managua but later sent back to house arrest because of health problems. In December he was found guilty and sentenced to 20 years in prison and a heavy fine. He submitted an appeal against the conviction.

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