March 18, 2019: Nicaraguan Police Forces Attack and Arrest Peaceful Protesters

The World Movement for Democracy condemns the use of indiscriminate violence by the Nicaraguan police forces on March 16, when they attacked a demonstration calling for the release of political prisoners and arrested 164 protesters. Among those arrested was World Movement Steering Committee member Sofia Montenegro.

The attack started just before 2:00 in the afternoon, when police began arresting anyone carrying a Nicaraguan flag in the vicinity of the demonstration, which was organized by the Blue and White National Unity coalition. In addition, police attacked and arrested journalists who were covering the protest. Many who were wounded during the attack lay in the streets for hours, because Red Cross personnel in the area were unable to move them to hospitals for fear of being attacked themselves. Those arrested were released late Saturday night to a large crowd of family members and friends. “It was a moving thing, [seeing] how the people at that time of night went out to the streets to receive us,” said Sofia Montenegro.

Government violence against civil society has become ubiquitous in Nicaragua since protests first broke out in April 2018. Over the past year, hundreds of citizens have been killed and independent media organizations have been attacked. Civil society leaders have been particularly targeted, such as Felix Madriaga, executive director of Instituto de Estudios Estrategicos y Politicas Publicas (IEEPP), whose attack by a Sandinista mob was detailed in last year’s DemocracyAlert. Since then, the Steering Committee of the World Movement has spoken out against these attacks and has urged the international community to hold the Ortega government accountable.

On December 28, 2018, the World Movement Steering Committee Chairperson and former United Nations (UN) Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Zainab Bangura, issued a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calling for concrete action towards the government of Nicaragua in defense of democracy and fundamental freedoms. In late January 2019, World Movement Steering Committee member Ana Gomes led a European Parliament special mission to meet with Nicaraguan political prisoners, journalists, and civil society members. While there, she published interviews with political prisoners at La Esperanza women’s prison.

The World Movement continues to call for the release of all political prisoners in Nicaragua and urges the diplomatic community to take action in defense of Nicaragua’s citizens, journalists, and civil society.

December 17, 2018: Nicaraguan Government Targets Civil Society Organizations

The Latin American Network for Democracy, the Steering Committee of the World Movement for Democracy, the Citizen Forum of the Americas, and the International Steering Committee of Civil Society of the Community of Democraciescondemn direct attacks made against Nicaraguan civil society organizations, social actors, and independent media by the government of Daniel Ortega.

Over the last few days, the National Assembly of Nicaragua has cancelled the legal registration of several prominent civil society organizations that work to strengthen democracy and human rights, and that have also been critical of Ortega’s government. On December 14, 2018, several of the targeted organizations, along with media outlet Confidencial, reported illegal raids without a warrant by State Security on their offices.

The organizations impacted are the Centro de Información y Servicios de Asesoría en Salud (CISAS), Instituto de Estudios Estratégicos y Políticas Públicas (IEEPP), the Centro Nicaragüense de Derechos Humanos (CENIDH), Hagamos Democracia, the Centro de Investigación de la Comunicación (CINCO), the Instituto para el Desarrollo y la Democracia (IPADE), Instituto de Liderazgo de las Segovias, and Fundación del Río, among others.

These attacks reflect the social and political crisis in Nicaragua that has undermined the individual freedoms and human rights of Nicaraguan citizens. According to the CIVICUS Monitor, the state of civic space in the country is “repressive.” The Monitor notes “free expression is being damaged due to the construction of a media empire in the hands of the president’s family, the disciplining of critical media through the arbitrary allocation of state advertising, extreme secrecy and a tight control on the flow of public information.”

Call for Action

The organizations mentioned above, their members, and allies around the world, call on:

1. The member states of the United Nations to uphold the values of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, many of which are being violated by the government of Nicaragua.
2. Member nations of the Organization of American States and signatories of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, which obligates them to promote and defend the right to democracy enshrined for all the peoples of the Americas.
3. The nations that are part of the Governing Council of the Community of Democracies and signatories of the Warsaw Declaration and the Civil Society Standards that commits them to carry out coordinated diplomatic actions, whenever it is necessary, to support the space of civil society.

Under these commitments, we ask the diplomatic community to:

1. Demand President Daniel Ortega and other government institutions to:

• Cease the repression of social organizations and their members;
• Return the legal status to organizations that were canceled;
• Return items that were confiscated to the raided organizations; and
• Redress the physical damage done in such raids.

2. Request the Organization of American States and its member countries:

• That its Secretary General forcefully condemn the repression of civil society and the violation of democracy in Nicaragua, as he has so strongly done with other dictatorial regimes in the region;
• To comply with the OAS Charter’s democratic clause, and suspend the participation of Nicaragua in the sessions of the General Assembly, the Meeting of Consultation, the Councils of the Organization and specialized conferences, the commissions, working groups, and other OAS organs; and
• To share this call with other networks and diplomatic missions, to seek joint diplomatic and solidarity actions.

The lives and dignity of thousands of people, as well as the defense of citizenship, civil society, and democratic institutions, not only of Nicaragua, but of the entire region, depend on this.

October 12, 2018: Pakistani Civil Society Leader Faces Detention and Travel Ban

The World Movement is greatly concerned to learn about the arbitrary arrest of and travel ban imposed on Pakistani activist Gulalai Ismail. Ismail was detained at Islamabad International Airport upon returning from London on October 12, 2018. She was released on interim bail, but has been placed on the Exit Control List banning her from leaving the country. The harassment of Ismail is related to her role as an active supporter of the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM), which works to raise awareness of enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and discrimination against Pakistan’s Pashtun ethnic minority.

In a WhatsApp audio message to friends immediately preceding her arrest, Ismail noted: “This is an attack on civic freedoms. This is an attack on our liberty to speak out. This is an attack on our freedom of speech.” Over the last year, the Pakistani government has escalated its repression of the Pashtun minority, increasingly targeting PTM members with detention, travel bans, and charges of “sedition and cybercrimes.” After Ismail participated in a public gathering organized by the PTM on August 12, 2018, she was among 19 individuals who were charged with multiple offences, including rioting and removing the country’s flag from a building.

Gulalai Ismail is the cofounder and chairperson of Aware Girls, an organization that aims to empower and educate young women on rights and leadership in Pakistan. Through Aware Girls, Ismail is an active participant in the World Movement network. In 2013, she received the National Endowment for Democracy’s Democracy Award and in 2017 was awarded the Anna Politkovskaya Reach All Women in WAR Award. Join us in calling on the government of Pakistan to cease harassment of Gulalai Ismail and other members of the PTM and to respect their right to freedom of expression.

October 8, 2018: Egypt Targets Civil Society Leader Esraa Abdelfattah Under Case 173

The World Movement for Democracy is concerned to learn that Egyptian activist and long-time World Movement participant Esraa Abdelfattah has been summoned to appear before a judge for questioning on October 9, 2018 in relation to Case 173. Commonly called the “NGO foreign funding case,” Case 173 is a politically-motivated investigation into civil society organizations working on democracy and human rights issues that receive foreign funding. In June 2013, it was used to sentence 43 Egyptian, American, and German NGO workers to sentences ranging from 1-5 years on charges of receiving money from abroad and establishing branches of an international organization without a license. Abdelfattah is being questioned in relation to her role as a projects manager for the Egyptian Democratic Academy, a non-governmental organization that promotes the use of new media tools to foster democracy and human rights.

Esraa Abdelfattah is a co-founder of the April 6 Youth Movement, a group originally created to show support for industrial workers in the town of El-Mahalla El-Kubra who were calling for increased labor rights. The April 6 Youth Movement later became a popular political movement demanding basic rights for all Egyptians. Abdelfattah, a 2011 nominee for a Nobel Peace Prize, has faced sustained government harassment due to the nature of her work over the last decade. Since 2015, she has been unable to leave the country due to a travel ban. Prior, she was imprisoned for several weeks in Qanater Women’s Prison for her role in organizing the 2008 “Facebook Protests” in support of workers who were planning a strike on April 6, 2008.

Abdelfattah’s summons comes amidst an ongoing crackdown on members of civil society in Egypt, in which activists and journalists have been arrested in unprecedented numbers. Given this environment, the World Movement is fearful that this summons represents an increasing trend of targeting and harassing activists under President Abdel-Fattah El Sisi, and we are fearful of the implications for Esraa Abdelfattah. Join us in calling on the government of Egypt to cease the harassment of Abdelfattah and other civil society leaders in Egypt.

July 13, 2018: World Movement Condemns Attack on Nicaraguan Civil Society Leader Felix Maradiaga

The World Movement for Democracy strongly condemns the recent attack on Felix Maradiaga, executive director of Nicaraguan non-governmental organization Instituto de Estudios Estrategicos y Politicas Publicas (IEEPP), by a Sandinista mob on Wednesday, July 10, 2018. Maradiaga was meeting with other members of civil society in the city of León when they were attacked by the pro-government youth. Reports by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) indicate that he faced multiple incidents of harassment in the days prior to the attack. Threats announcing the intention to assassinate Maradiaga surfaced on social media, and hooded men temporarily detained him after stopping his car on the highway.

“It is urgent that the State of Nicaragua adopt measures to prevent any attack against the beneficiaries and that…events such as those reported against Mr. Maradiaga are not repeated…It is essential that the State of Nicaragua guarantees that human rights defenders can carry out their work of reporting and documenting the human rights situation freely and in conditions of security,” remarked Commissioner Francisco Eguiguren of the IACHR.

This attack occurred amidst the rising incidence of violence against members of civil society who hold dissenting views in Nicaragua. Events like these present a clear threat to the internationally-protected rights of freedom of assembly and association and freedom of expression of Nicaraguan citizens. Although members of civil society were hopeful that the involvement of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) would result in greater respect for human rights in the country, the continued attacks on activists indicate a dangerous future for civic space.

The World Movement urges authorities to investigate and address the systematic violence against human rights defenders and civil society leaders in Nicaragua. Moreover, we call on the government to fully implement the recommendations of the IACHR and to resume dialogue with civil society organizations towards the full restoration of the rule of law and a process of democratic transition. Join us in telling the government of Nicaragua that the international community will not tolerate reprisals against members of civil society who express dissenting views.

June 22, 2018: Nicaraguan Government Continues Violence Against Protesters

Since protests first broke out in Nicaragua on April 18, the international community has witnessed an inexcusable escalation of violence against citizens by police, government-sanctioned paramilitaries, and pro-government Sandinista mobs. The mid-April protests over proposed reforms to the Social Security System initially saw three deaths—an estimated 200 people have been killed since. The protesters’ demands, which initially called for reversing social security reforms, have since evolved to demanding President Daniel Ortega’s resignation after his 11-year rule. Protesters allege systematic abuses of power by Ortega, Vice President Rosario Murillo—Ortega’s wife—and their party, which have gradually dismantled democratic institutions in the country since President Ortega’s return to the presidency in 2006.

After a month of protests, Ortega and Murillo agreed to enter into talks with the opposition, “Civic Alliance,” which is comprised in part by the students who organized the initial protests. The talks were mediated by bishops belonging to the Episcopal Conference of Nicaragua. However, they quickly broke down after the government failed to abide by the opposition’s demands that it cease using violence against protesters, particularly after the bloody events of May 30.

On May 30, in events later named the Mother’s Day massacre, an estimated 600,000 protesters took to the streets in the cities of Managua, Estelí, and Masaya. Reports indicate that 18 were killed and almost 200 injured when police and armed militants opened fire on the crowds in all three cities. The Episcopal  Conference condemned the government’s response, stating: “The bishops of Nicaragua have experienced with deep pain, the violent events perpetrated last night by armed groups related to the government against the civil population…[We] condemn all of these acts of repression…and we want to leave it clear the national dialogue talks cannot continue while the Nicaraguan people continue being denied their right to protest.”

Having controlled the city of Masaya for several weeks, protest leaders announced on June 18 their intention to break away from Ortega’s rule and form an independent commission to govern the city. However, the following day, government forces stormed the city and regained control, killing six in the process. Despite having attempted to reengage the government in dialogue, the Episcopal Conference once again suspended talks in the context of continuing state repression against protesters, and the government’s failure to invite representatives of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the European Union to investigate protester casualties.

In light of these disturbing events, the World Movement for Democracy once again strongly condemns all acts of violence and intimidation against peaceful protesters in Nicaragua. Additionally, it calls on Nicaraguan authorities to allow for members of the international community to investigate the reported extrajudicial killings, unlawful detentions, and disappearances of dozens of Nicaraguans over the last two months.

June 6, 2018: Egypt Military Court Sentences Journalist Ismail Alexandrani to 10 Years Amidst Wider Crackdown

The World Movement for Democracy expresses its deep concern over the unjust 10-year sentence handed to journalist and researcher Ismail Alexandrani by an Egyptian military court on May 22, 2018. Alexandrani, a winner of the World Youth Movement for Democracy’s International Essay Contest on Youth and Democracy, is a well-known expert on Sinai affairs and Islamic movements in Egypt. He also previously served as a Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy and as a researcher at the Egyptian Centre for Economic and Social Rights.

Alexandrani was arrested on November 29, 2015, facing charges of obtaining and publishing military secrets, joining a banned organization, and publishing false news abroad. After nearly two years in pretrial detention, his case was referred by the Supreme State Security Prosecution to a military court. Following his arrest, more than 70 researchers from around the world issued a joint-statement calling for his release, which noted: “Alexandrani is one of Egypt’s brightest young researchers, who has spent the last few years doing ground-breaking work on the marginalized areas of Egypt…[his] arrest is a repression of free speech and should be condemned.”

His sentencing comes amidst a wider crackdown on journalists, members of civil society, and activists in Egypt. The Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) warns that the arrests of prominent democracy advocates signals President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s intention to further transform Egypt from an environment that “limits independent political space” to one that “wants to eliminate it entirely.”

The World Movement for Democracy expresses solidarity with activists arbitrarily detained and imprisoned in recent weeks and joins the international community in calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Ismail Alexandrani. Join us in telling the government of Egypt to #SetThemFree by sharing this alert!

January 19, 2018: Arson, Arrests, Violence: Human Rights Activists Under Attack in Russia

In a span of several weeks, human rights activists throughout the North Caucasus have been targets of violent attacks and intimidation. On January 17, 2018, the offices of Memorial Human Rights Center in Ingushetia were torched and destroyed by unidentified masked men. Memorial is one of the most prominent and effective human rights organizations in Russia with satellite offices in 49 regions. One week earlier, Oyub Titiev, leader of the Memorial Human Rights Center in Chechnya, was arrested for marijuana possession. A devout Muslim who abstains from alcohol and drugs, Titiev vehemently denies these charges and says the police planted the drugs. At his hearing, the court detained him for two months while the investigation is ongoing, and he faces up to 10 years in prison if found guilty. Titiev, who had a dental appointment scheduled on the day that he was arrested, is currently having difficulty eating and is being denied access to a doctor.

Chechnya remains one of the most dangerous regions in Russia for human rights activists and journalists, and fabricated drug charges are commonly used there to imprison government critics. Memorial staff believe the arrest and arson are part of a coordinated effort to retaliate against their work. The office has long been targeted by the Chechen authorities, most infamously with the murder of Titiev’s predecessor, Natalya Estemirova. Natalya was kidnapped and murdered in 2010 and her killers have never been brought to justice. In response to Titiev’s arrest, Ramzan Kadyrov, head of the Chechen Republic, publically criticized human rights activists, saying they are not “real” Chechens and that they are “people without kinship, ethnicity, or religion.”

The recent uptick in violence is not isolated to human rights activists. World Movement previously reported that in late December, three environmental activists from the group Environmental Watch on the North Caucasus, were brutally attacked by masked men in Krasnodar, Russia. The group’s founder Andrey Rudomakha was physically attacked along with two colleagues when returning from video recording possible environmental violations and illegal construction on the Black Sea coast.  Andrey believes government authorities tracked their movements and provided information to aid the assailants’ attack and to steal the videos they recorded. Last week, Rudomakha and another member of the group received threatening messages targeted against them from the email address “Death to Rudomakha.”

The World Movement condemns these transparent acts of intimidation and urges the Russian government to denounce violence against the human rights community.  Join us in solidarity with Memorial, Titiev, and Rudomakha by sharing their stories and urging for the charges against Titiev to be dismissed and the crimes against Rudomakha and Memorial to be investigated.

April 21, 2017: Equatoguinean Authorities Escalate Crackdown on Civil Society