The human rights activist Bianca Jagger has thanked the head of the Catholic Church in Ireland for supporting a campaign to free a bishop from prison in south America.
Monsignor Rolanda Álvarez, Bishop of Matagalpa in Nicaragua, was sentenced in February to 26 years in prison for speaking out against the excesses of an increasingly authoritarian government, with his charges including treason.
Among those calling for his release has been Archbishop Eamon Martin, the Catholic Primate of Ireland.
He has pressed for the Tánaiste Micheál Martin to put pressure on the Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega.
Bianca Jagger, the ex-wife of the Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, is originally from the south American country and now heads a human rights foundation.
Commenting on social media, she said: “Thank you Archbishop Armagh Eamon Martin for urging the Tánaiste to make representations to the Nicaraguan government calling for the release of Bishop Alvarez and end to the intimidation and persecution of all who defend human rights in Nicaragua.”
Thank you Archbishop Armagh Eamon Martin for urging the Tánaiste to make representations to the Nicaraguan gov calling for the release of Bishop Alvarez & end to the intimidation & persecution of all who defend human rights in #Nicaragua. The Irish Times https://t.co/jxDbQew2fM
— Bianca Jagger Nicaraguense por gracia de Dios (@BiancaJagger) August 16, 2023
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The Irish Times reported that records released by the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs detailed how Archbishop Martin had written to Mr Martin in February over his “grave concern at the situation in Nicaragua, and the persecution of members of the clergy as well as others who express criticism of the regime”.
He added that a total of 222 political prisoners had been deported to the United States and stripped of their citizenship shortly after leaving.
“However, Monsignor Rolando Álvarez...who had been under house arrest since August 2022, refused to board the plane,” he said.
“He was subsequently detained, tried and given a 26-year sentence for offences of conspiracy, spreading false news, obstruction of justice and contempt of court.”
He added that over the last five years, the Nicaraguan government had “not only incarcerated hundreds of people who challenged the increasing autocracy of the regime,” but also shut down over 3,000 non-governmental organisations, universities and associations.
This includes the Irish charity Trócaire.
Archbishop Martin asked that the Irish government “make representations to the government of Nicaragua, calling for the release of Monsignor Rolando Álvarez, and an end to the intimidation and persecution of all who defend human rights in Nicaragua”.
The Tánaiste responded a month later, agreeing that the situation in Nicaragua had become gravely concerning.
“The continued crackdowns on dissenting voices, including religious leaders, and the campaign of repression against civil society and independent media, together with backsliding on democratic norms, are unacceptable,” he wrote.
“I wish to assure you that my department and I, including through the Embassy of Ireland in Mexico and together with EU member states...are closely monitoring the detention of Bishop Álvarez and will continue to call for his immediate and unconditional release, as well as that of all other remaining political prisoners.”
In July, Monsignor Álvarez was said to have been released temporarily before being sent back to prison when talks between Nicaraguan bishops and the government collapsed.
A spokesperson for the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman said that Ireland “condemns the human rights violations and persecution of dissenting voices in Nicaragua,” and in partnership with the EU continues to call “the immediate release of Bishop Rolando Álvarez, as well as all other unjustly detained prisoners”.
