"Unjustly incarcerated": US calls on Nicaraguan govt to release Bishop Rolando Alvarez

Washington, DC [US], January 2 : The United States (US) has called on the Nicaraguan government to release Bishop Rolando Alvarez, who has been "unjustly incarcerated," immediately and without conditions.
A statement from the US State Department said that Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo "have unjustly incarcerated Bishop Rolando Alvarez for 500 days".
"During that time, Nicaraguan authorities have kept Bishop Alvarez in isolation, blocked independent evaluation of the conditions of his imprisonment, and released staged videos and photographs that only increase concerns about his well-being," the statement adds.
The US State Department also acknowledged arrest of other religious leaders, who are languishing in jails.
"In addition to Bishop Alvarez, many religious leaders remain unjustly detained in Nicaragua, including fellow Bishop Isidoro Mora and several priests. The Ortega-Murillo regime continues to impose severe restrictions on religious communities and deny Nicaraguan citizens the ability to freely practice their religions and express their beliefs," the statement also said.
"We once again call on the Nicaraguan government to release Bishop Rolando Alvarez immediately and without conditions," it added.
In its extensive crackdown on opposition figures and Catholic Church, led by President Ortega, the Nicaraguan authorities arrested a second bishop on December 24, as reported by CNN. Bishop Isidoro Mora, from the Siuna church on the Caribbean coast, was arrested after participating in a mass commemorating the anniversary of the Matagalpa church, the sources added.
Notably, Alvarez, the bishop of Matagalpa, is serving a 26-year prison sentence for charges including conspiracy and treason. He refused to leave the country with 200 others opposing the government.
The condition of Mora since the arrest remains unknown, as per one source.
A source told CNN the "persecution against the church in Nicaragua is very strong. We shut up because if we say something we face threats. We know the world knows, but we suffer the pain."
Since 2018, tens of thousands of Nicaraguans have fled the country to escape persecution when Ortega's government suppressed widespread anti-regime protests, resulting in numerous deaths, injuries, and arbitrary detentions, according to Human Rights Watch.
President Ortega and Vice President Murillo view the Catholic Church as opposition forces, labelling the protests as an "attempted coup."
Mora's arrest follows the expulsion of two Costa Rican nuns from Nicaragua in April after praying for Alvarez.
Yader Morazan, an expert in Nicaragua's judiciary system, highlighted a "repressive pattern" against the Catholic Church, with dozens of priests and laymen jailed, and over 200 people, including priests and nuns, expelled or blocked from returning.
Ortega secured a fifth term as president in 2021. His government, citing a vague national security law, began detaining opposition figures, journalists, and activists ahead of the elections in June of that year, CNN reported.