What changed

B100314/2026

European Parliament resolution on political prisoners in Nicaragua – the cases of Carlos Brenes, Salvadora del Socorro Martínez Aburto and Brooklyn Rivera

European Parliament resolution on political prisoners in Nicaragua - the cases of Carlos Brenes, Salvadora del Socorro Martínez Aburto and Brooklyn Rivera

(2026/2765(RSP))

– having regard to RuleRules 150150(5) and 136(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the UN Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua (GHREN) reports of February and March 2026,

A. whereas since 2018, the Ortega-Murillo regime has dismantled democratic institutions and the rule of law, with constitutional reform abolishing political pluralism, while persecuting opponents, journalists, clergy, indigenous leaders, human-rights defenders and civil society;

A. whereas the GHREN has concluded that the Ortega-Murillo regime is committing crimes against humanity; whereas the 2025 constitutional reform abolished political pluralism, removed the prohibition of torture and concentrated power in the co-presidency;

B. whereas the Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua concluded that violations since 2018 may constitute crimes against humanity; whereas civic space is effectively closed, with over 5 600 NGOs and 80 % of civil society organisations closed and hundreds of thousands forcibly exiled;

B. whereas Carlos Ramón Brenes Sánchez, a 71-year-old retired army colonel, was first detained in 2018 for civic protest participation, subjected to torture and family threats, and released in 2019; whereas he and his wife Salvadora del Socorro Martínez Aburto were re-arrested in August 2025 and remain forcibly disappeared as of June 2026; whereas the Inter-American Court of Human Rights documented in April 2026 that Brenes is held in solitary confinement and denied medication despite insulin-dependent diabetes;

C. whereas human rights organisations document arbitrary arrests, incommunicado detention and enforced disappearances; whereas since August 2025 the UN has registered three deaths in custody linked to inadequate conditions and medical care;

C. whereas Brooklyn Rivera Bryan, Miskito leader, YATAMA founder, and former legislator, was arrested in September 2023 after speaking at a UN Indigenous peoples forum; whereas the regime concealed his detention for fourteen months, acknowledging it only under international; whereas Brooklyn Rivera died in custody on 30 May 2026;

D. whereas Carlos Brenes, detained in 2018 for civic protest and tortured, and Salvadora Martínez, were detained again in August 2025, held incommunicado and sentenced without due process to 15 years for ‘treason’; whereas Brenes has diabetes and was denied medication;

D. whereas since 2018 approximately 80% of civil society organisations have been closed and at least 546 individuals arbitrarily stripped of their nationality; whereas the GHREN documented a State-financed transnational surveillance network targeting Nicaraguans abroad, including killings of exiled critics;

E. whereas Brooklyn Rivera, Miskitu indigenous leader and president of the dissolved Yatama party, was detained in September 2023, forcibly disappeared for over 32 months and died in custody on 30 May 2026; whereas authorities refused to release his body and relatives seeking his remains were disappeared;

E. whereas Nicaragua has withdrawn from five UN agencies and the Human Rights Council to evade accountability;

1. Strongly condemns the Ortega-Murillo regime’s systematic repression, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, sham trials, exile, denationalisation, confiscation and crimes against humanity;

Strongly condemns the systematic repression and crimes against humanity committed by the Ortega-Murillo regime;

2. Demands the immediate, unconditional release of Brenes, Martínez and all political prisoners, the annulment of politically motivated convictions, information on their fate and whereabouts, and immediate proof of life;

Condemns the death of Brooklyn Rivera in state custody; demands an immediate, independent, and transparent investigation, full accountability for those responsible;

3. Urges authorities to grant all detainees family and lawyer access, medical care and international monitoring, applying the Nelson Mandela Rules; calls for UN human rights mechanisms to regain access to detention centres;

Condemns the 15-year sentences imposed on Brenes and Martínez Aburto without due process; demands immediate proof of life, disclosure of their whereabouts, access to medication, access for their lawyers to all case files, and their unconditional release;

4. Calls for a prompt investigation into Brooklyn Rivera’s death, the return of his remains, the release of disappeared relatives and accountability;

Demands Nicaragua immediately comply with all IACtHR rulings; calls on the UN Human Rights Council to sustain the GHREN mandate and consider ICC referral;

5. Condemns the persecution of Christian churches, indigenous peoples, civil society, opponents and their relatives; calls for the reinstatement of all arbitrarily dissolved organisations and respect for freedom of religion and belief;

Urges the Council and EEAS to strengthen targeted EU sanctions against officials identified by the GHREN as responsible for crimes against humanity;

6. Calls for democratic actors and civil society in Nicaragua and in exile to be supported; calls for the EU to ensure that no EU or multilateral funds strengthen the regime and to expand targeted sanctions against perpetrators, including Daniel Ortega and his inner circle;

Demands Nicaragua cease all transnational repression, including surveillance, passport denial, misuse of INTERPOL mechanisms, and retaliation against relatives of exiles;

7. Urges compliance with the IACtHR ruling; supports accountability, including through universal jurisdiction and International Criminal Court referral; recalls its position regarding Alessio Casimirri’s extradition;

Calls on Nicaragua to guarantee the safety of human rights defenders, journalists, and civil society actors still inside the country;

8. Calls on the Council and the Commission to trigger the democratic clause and suspend application of the Association Agreement in respect of Nicaragua while repression persists; stresses that Parliament will not engage with regime representatives within the newly established Association Parliamentary Committee;

Calls on the EU and Member States to strengthen political and financial support for democratic actors and civil society in Nicaragua and in exile; reaffirms solidarity with the Nicaraguan people in their struggle for democracy and the rule of law;

9. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the VP/HR, the Member States, the UN, the Organization of American States and the Nicaraguan authorities.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the VP/HR, the Member States, the UN Secretary-General, the IACHR, and the Nicaraguan authorities.