resolution motion, 10 February 2025
On the repression by the Ortega-Murillo regime in Nicaragua, targeting human rights defenders, political opponents and religious communities in particular
Motion B-10-2025-0135 · (2025/2547(RSP))
on behalf of the ECR Group · Rapporteur: Adam Bielan, Jadwiga Wiśniewska, Mariusz Kamiński, Ondřej Krutílek, Veronika Vrecionová, Joachim Stanisław Brudziński, Małgorzata Gosiewska, Waldemar Tomaszewski, Sebastian Tynkkynen, Assita Kanko, Ivaylo Valchev, Alexandr Vondra, Aurelijus Veryga, Alberico Gambino
AI:In short
This resolution condemns the Ortega-Murillo regime in Nicaragua for systematic human rights violations, including repression of political opponents, human rights defenders, journalists, and religious communities, particularly the Catholic Church. It calls for the release of political prisoners, restoration of citizenship, reinstatement of civil society organizations, and expansion of EU sanctions, while deploring Nicaragua's alliances with authoritarian regimes.
Key points
- Strongly condemns the Ortega-Murillo regime's systematic human rights violations for political reasons, including manipulation of criminal law and justice system to criminalize civil and political rights and freedom of religion.
- Condemns attacks on Catholic Church leadership and repression against political opposition, Christian believers, human rights defenders, and journalists; urges immediate end to repression and full respect for human rights.
- Calls for immediate and unconditional release of all imprisoned religious leaders and political prisoners, annulment of legal proceedings, and condemns abusive detention and illegal convictions.
- Calls on authorities to restore Nicaraguan citizenship to all those arbitrarily and illegally deprived of it.
- Calls on government to reinstate legal status of all civil society organizations and unfreeze bank accounts of universities, NGOs, and religious groups.
- Deplores Nicaragua's bond with authoritarian regimes in Havana and Caracas and political and military alignment with Russia and China.
- Reiterates call to expand EU sanctions list and cooperate with the US on fighting human trafficking gangs and drug cartels.
Who is affected
- The Ortega-Murillo regime in Nicaragua is condemned and urged to change its practices.
- Political prisoners, religious leaders, human rights defenders, journalists, and civil society organizations in Nicaragua are targeted for release and reinstatement.
- Nicaraguans deprived of citizenship are called to have it restored.
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Full text
Text 17 paragraphs
B100135/2025
Motion for a European Parliament resolution on the repression by the Ortega-Murillo regime in Nicaragua, targeting human rights defenders, political opponents and religious communities in particular
(2025/2547(RSP))
The European Parliament,
–having regard to its previous resolutions on Nicaragua,
–having regard to Rule 150(5) of its Rules of Procedure,
A.whereas since 2018 Nicaragua’s Ortega-Murillo regime intensified repression, expanding the use of forced exile and citizenship revocation as ways to target government critics and human rights defenders; whereas over 450 people have been deprived of Nicaraguan nationality since February 2023; whereas the situation is exploited by smuggling gangs operating across the region, often in collaboration with Ortega-aligned regimes in Venezuela and Cuba;
B.whereas in January 2025 Nicaragua’s parliament ratified a constitutional amendment that elevates Ortega’s wife, Rosario Murillo, to the position of co-president and grants the Ortega-Murillo regime powers to coordinate all previously independent legislative, judicial, electoral and supervisory bodies;
C.whereas the government has intensified its campaign against religious institutions, in particular the Catholic church; whereas since October 2023, Nicaragua has forced over 240 religious figures, including 46 priests and bishops, into exile, deported them, or barred their return to the country: whereas Bishop Rolando Álvarez was sentenced to 26 years in prison and later forced into exile; whereas dozens of churches have had their legal status revoked and around 80 percent of NGO that operated in Nicaragua were shut down, including charitable organization; whereas in January 2025 around 30 Poor Clare nuns and the Discalced Carmelite friars were forced into exile;
1.Strongly condemns the Ortega-Murillo regime’s widespread perpetration of systematic and deliberate human rights violations against its population for purely political reasons; expresses concern about the manipulation of criminal law and the use of the justice system as a tool to criminalise the exercise of civil and political rights, as well as the freedom of religion and belief;
2.Condemns recent attacks on the leadership of the Catholic Church; denounces the repression against political opposition figures and Christian believers, as well as human rights defenders and journalists; urges the Nicaraguan regime to immediately end the repression and restore full respect for all human rights, including freedom of expression, religion and belief;
3.Calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all imprisoned religious leaders and political prisoners, and for all legal proceedings against them to be annulled; condemns the abusive detention and the lack of trial guarantees and the illegal convictions of political prisoners;
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4.Calls on the authorities to restore Nicaraguan citizenship to all those from whom it has been arbitrarily and illegally removed;
5.Calls on the government to reinstate the legal status of all civil society organizations and to unfreeze the bank accounts of universities, non-governmental organizations and religious groups;
6.Deplores Nicaragua’s bond with authoritarian regimes in Havana and Caracas, as well as political, and military strategic alignment with Russia and China;
7.Reiterates its call for the list of individuals and entities sanctioned by the EU to be expanded, and to cooperate with the US on fighting human trafficking gangs and drug cartels;
8.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Parliament and Government of Nicaragua.