MANAGUA – Human rights advocates on Friday urged Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega to free 566 people still in custody that the opposition considers political prisoners following an initial release of detainees from a simmering political crisis.
As it restarted talks with the opposition, the government on Wednesday released 100 people arrested during months of demonstrations against Ortega, the bloodiest conflict to shake the country since an 11-year civil war ended in 1990.
More than 320 people have died as pro-government forces cracked down on protests which erupted in April after an attempt to overhaul the pensions system. The resistance quickly swelled into a broad-based movement against Ortega’s rule.
Gradually crushing the rallies and street barricades, pro-government forces hunted down key protesters, detaining hundreds, many of whom were charged with terrorism. At least 30,000 Nicaraguans fled the country, many seeking asylum.
Talks to end the crisis first began last May but they quickly broke down amid opposition calls for early elections and frustration over a lack of concessions by the government. (Reuters)
