On political prisoners in Nicaragua - the cases of Carlos Brenes, Salvadora del Socorro Martínez Aburto and Brooklyn Rivera

B100314/2026

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 Rule 150 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 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 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 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 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E. whereas Nicaragua has withdrawn from five UN agencies and the Human Rights Council to evade accountability;

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

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

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;

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

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

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

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

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;

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.