The UN calls on Nicaragua to investigate Indigenous leader Brooklyn Rivera’s death in custody

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MEXICO CITY (AP) — The U.N. human rights office on Tuesday called on the Nicaraguan government to conduct an impartial investigation into the death of renowned imprisoned Indigenous leader Brooklyn Rivera, adding to international condemnation of the case.

The death of the 73-year-old Miskito leader was announced on Sunday by the Nicaraguan government, which reported that Rivera died from a bacterial infection after his health deteriorated following a bout of COVID-19.

Rivera, whose opposition to the Sandinista government dates back to the 1970s, was imprisoned on Sept. 29, 2023, as part of a crackdown on dissent against the Sandinista government. His family denounced his imprisonment for political reasons and stated that the government had not filed formal charges.

Last month, the administration of co-Presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo published a report on Rivera’s health, indicating that he was on a ventilator and suffering from multiple organ failure.

The Nicaraguan government said in January that it would release some prisoners, following pressure on its government in the wake of the U.S. military operation to capture Venezuela’s then-President Nicolás Maduro. But there has been little transparency from the government following the announcement.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, or OHCHR, said on Tuesday that Rivera was arbitrarily detained and that his case constituted a “forced disappearance,” given that the government did not make known his whereabouts for his more than two years in its custody, according to spokesperson Marta Hurtado.

“The specific conditions of his detention over the years, including whether he had access to adequate medical care, and the exact sequence of events that led to his death, remain unclear,” Hurtado said in the statement.

This is not the first time the OHCHR has criticized Nicaragua for what it considers a “continued pattern of serious allegations of torture and ill-treatment of prisoners.”

Last August, the U.N. office reported three other deaths in custody that were allegedly linked to poor detention conditions and insufficient medical care.

At least 47 people are currently imprisoned in Nicaragua for political reasons, according to a group that monitors these cases known as the Mechanism for the Recognition of Political Prisoners. Hundreds were imprisoned following a popular uprising in 2018 that led to a bloody government crackdown that killed hundreds.

More than 200 political prisoners were released and sent to the U.S. in 2023 and described being held in solitary confinement and subjected to torture. Many developed chronic health problems and now live in a precarious immigration limbo under the Trump administration. Another 135 political prisoners were released and sent to Guatemala in 2024.

The OHCHR called on the Nicaraguan government to “release all arbitrarily detained persons and to ensure that detention centers fully comply with international human rights standards.”

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This story corrects the initials of the U.N. rights office to OHCHR, from UNHCR, which is the U.N. refugee agency.

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