UN human rights commissioner presses Nicaragua for answers on missing bishop

The U.N. high commissioner for human rights has urged the Ortega dictatorship to disclose the fate, whereabouts, and condition of 80-year-old Bishop Abelardo Mata and restore the rule of law.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk demanded that the Nicaraguan regime provide information on the whereabouts and condition of Bishop Abelardo Mata, who has been subjected to enforced disappearance since late June.

“I am concerned by reports of repression against the Catholic Church and other religious denominations, including the lack of official information regarding the fate, whereabouts, and condition of 80-year-old Bishop Abelardo Mata Guevara, who was detained on June 29,” the high commissioner stated on July 22, according to the organizationʼs website.

“I urge the authorities to release immediately all individuals who have been arbitrarily detained and to ensure that all those detained are treated with humanity and dignity in line with Nicaragua’s obligations under international human rights law,” Türk said.

Mata, the bishop emeritus of Estelí, was detained twice by police in late June after praying for the persecuted Church in Nicaragua during a Mass he celebrated on Sunday, June 28.

His whereabouts are unknown, although the dictatorship has stated that he is at home.

The Central American bishops have called on the regime to allow him to be seen by a doctor, and various notable individuals have expressed concern for the 80-year-old bishop, who suffers from diabetes and vision problems and uses a pacemaker for a heart condition.

Ortega announces there will be no elections in Nicaragua

The high commissioner also addressed the announcement made by Daniel Ortega on Sunday, July 19, during a public event commemorating the 47th anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution that there would be no further elections in Nicaragua.

“I call on the authorities to reopen civic space and restore the rule of law. People of all political viewpoints must be allowed to vote and run for office, in line with the stateʼs international human rights obligations,” Türk said.

In addition to the announcement regarding the elections, the office of the high commissioner also reported that earlier this month, the Nicaraguan dictatorship revoked the credentials of several lawyers without legal basis or official explanation at a time when “at least 46 individuals remain arbitrarily detained for political reasons.”

This is compounded by the fact that the ruling party controls the National Assembly, municipalities, and regional councils; that various Indigenous territories “are impacted by mining and extractive concessions”; and that many of these have been granted without genuine consultation or the consent of Indigenous peoples.

Türk noted that all these events “further deepen the severe restrictions on fundamental freedoms, the dismantling of civic space, and the steady erosion of the rule of law” in Nicaragua.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.