Jessica Cisneros, Yerling Aguilera and Madeleine Caracas

Activity
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (DESC)

Attack experienced
Smear campaign, criminalization and harassment

THE FACTS – During the informational caravan through Europe to denounce crimes committed against the people of Nicaragua and the absence of autonomous institutions that guarantee justice and democracy, the activists Yerling Aguilera, Jessica Cisneros and Madeleine Caracas, have been victims of a number pf acts of defamation, criminalization and harassment. Of the three, only Madeleine Caracas has been granted precautionary measures by the IACHR.

In Stockholm, Sweden, a number of sympathizers with the Nicaraguan government barged into an event organized by a solidarity committee with Latin America in which the women defenders were participating and tried to boycott it. Later on, the Facebook page European Solidarity Committee with the Sandinista Revolution, carried serious defamations against the three defenders, calling them “mercenaries for hire,” “gang members,” and “delinquents,” and accusing them of asking money from Scandinavian people “to buy arms and bombs,” among other things.

We of IM-Defensoras are especially concerned about the risks faced by the three activists upon their return to Nicaragua, who are vulnerable to State repression, as well as to acts by paramilitary groups that continue to act with impunity.

We therefore request that the IACHR grant precautionary measures to Yerling Aguilera and Jessica Cisneros, like those already granted to Madeleine Caracas. We demand that the State comply with its obligation to guarantee the safety and security of the three, and hold it responsable for anything that may befall them. We urge the international community to stand in solidarity with the struggle of the Nicaraguan people and to foster the protection of those who are making this reality known to the world both inside and outside of Nicaragua.