Los Angeles Times

Nicaragua strips 94 of their citizenshi­p

Former vice president is among dissidents labeled as ‘traitors.’

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MEXICO CITY — Nicaragua has revoked the citizenshi­p of 94 political dissidents, including writers Sergio Ramírez and Gioconda Belli.

Appeals Court Justice Ernesto Rodríguez Mejía read a statement Wednesday that declared the 94 people to be “traitors” and said they had lost their Nicaraguan citizenshi­p.

Mejía said their properties would be confiscate­d.

He said those on the list — among them rights activist Vilma Núñez, former Sandinista rebel commander Luis Carrión and journalist Carlos Fernando Chamorro — were guilty of “spreading false news” and “conspiracy to undermine national integrity.”

It was unclear what law the declaratio­n was based on. Nicaragua’s congress has not yet fully approved a bill that would allow the government to strip people of their citizenshi­p.

Most of those named have fled Nicaragua since President Daniel Ortega began arresting opponents two years ago, and Mejía said they had been declared “fugitives.” There was no mention of what might happen to those named who are still in Nicaragua.

The move comes days after Ortega packed off 222 imprisoned political leaders, priests, students, activists and other dissidents on a flight to the United States.

Shortly thereafter, Ortega’s government voted to strip the expelled former prisoners of Nicaraguan citizenshi­p.

Analysts, legal experts and human rights groups call it a political ploy. They contend that revoking the former prisoners’ citizenshi­p also violates internatio­nal law and say it is unpreceden­ted — at least in the Western Hemisphere — in terms of scale and effect.

Ramírez announced in 2021 that he would live in Spain after Ortega’s government tried to arrest him and banned his latest book. The 80-year-old writer served as vice president during Ortega’s first government from 1985 to 1990. But in the mid-1990s he and other intellectu­als and former guerrillas distanced themselves from Ortega.

Thousands have fled into exile since Nicaraguan security forces violently put down mass antigovern­ment protests in 2018. Ortega says the protests were actually a foreign-backed coup attempt that aimed to overthrow him and to encourage other nations to sanction his family and government.

In the run-up to Ortega’s reelection in November 2021, Nicaraguan authoritie­s arrested seven potential opposition candidates to clear the field.

The government also has shut down hundreds of nongovernm­ental groups that

Ortega accused of using foreign funding to destabiliz­e his government.

Peter J. Spiro, an internatio­nal law professor at Temple University, and others say revoking citizenshi­p in this context violates a treaty adopted in 1961 by United Nations member states, including Nicaragua, that sets clear rules to prevent statelessn­ess.

The treaty states that government­s cannot “deprive any person or group of persons of their nationalit­y on racial, ethnic, religious or political grounds.”

Spiro noted that there are some circumstan­ces under which government­s can terminate citizenshi­p, such as for someone who acquires citizenshi­p in another country when the first nation prohibits dual citizenshi­p. But ending citizenshi­p is not allowed as a political weapon, he said.

Spain has offered citizenshi­p to the 222 exiles, while the U.S. granted the Nicaraguan­s a two-year temporary protection.

 ?? FORMER Manu Fernandez Associated Press ?? Vice President Sergio Ramírez said in 2021 that he would live in Spain after Nicaragua tried to arrest him and banned his book. Most of the 94 dissidents targeted by the government have f led the country.
FORMER Manu Fernandez Associated Press Vice President Sergio Ramírez said in 2021 that he would live in Spain after Nicaragua tried to arrest him and banned his book. Most of the 94 dissidents targeted by the government have f led the country.

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