After more than two and a half months without news from Monsignor Rolando Álvarez, Daniel Ortega’s government released some pictures of the Nicaraguan bishop this weekend. The priest, sentenced to more than 26 years in prison for “treason,” appeared in some photos and videos broadcast by official media, in which he was seen eating in a prison room with two of his brothers, who eventually were able to visit him. “Thank God, [estoy] Well, with much inner strength, with much peace in the Lord and in the Blessed Virgin,” the priest replied to a Channel 4 journalist in La Modelo prison.
The reappearance of the Bishop of Matagalpa, who has emerged as one of the most critical voices towards Daniel Ortega’s government, comes after human rights organizations and opposition groups demanded proof of life from the priest, who had not been seen publicly since February On October 10, the day he was tried, charged with “conspiracy to undermine national integrity” and “spreading false news”.
Monsignor Rolando Álvarez with his brothers Vilma and Manuel Álvarez Presidency of Nicaragua (EFE)
“We talked, we ate very tasty here, with a meal provided to us by our friends from the prison system,” says Monsignor Álvarez in front of the camera of the official channel. In the pictures he is wearing the blue prisoner suit and appears relaxed, smiling and responding to the media reporter in a good mood. In one of them they ask him to reconfirm whether he has “received the dignified treatment due to which every human being is entitled”. “Yes, I thank the responsible authorities and the penal system,” he says simply. The journalist replies that he is glad to see him healthy. “Does it look good for me? Healthy? And my face, how do you see it?” laughs the pastor when asked. And then he thanks the Virgin for visiting his brothers.
The pictures of Monsignor Álvarez were greeted with glee by the Nicaraguan opposition, which in recent days has intensified a campaign to demand evidence from the government of the priest’s life. “It is a source of joy for me to see Monsignor Álvarez, strong and with a face lit up with dignity and courage. It’s the proof of life we’ve been asking for so badly. He is kidnapped, but his voice is stronger than ever. I believe in God that we will see him from this prison very soon,” former presidential candidate and exiled political prisoner Félix Maradiaga wrote on his Twitter account on Saturday, as official media showed the pictures of the bishop with his brothers.
“For those of us who know the prisons of dictatorship, we know that Bishop Álvarez’s calm smile is thanks to his courage and his faith in God,” he added this Sunday after the priest’s statements were released .
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Those of us who know the prisons of dictatorship know that Bishop Álvarez’s calm smile is thanks to his courage and faith in God.
The dictatorship is not deceiving anyone with these pictures! Monsignor’s rights are cut off and he is kidnapped!
We demand their immediate release. pic.twitter.com/RiUxLuF6S4– Felix Maradiaga (@maradiaga) March 26, 2023
Álvarez, 56, was convicted in a summary trial without guarantees on February 10 after refusing to board the plane with the 222 political prisoners who were exiled and later stripped of their citizenship. “Release them, I’ll pay their fines,” said the bishop, who was under house arrest until then. The refusal to comply with the regime’s request to exclude critical voices put the priest in the crosshairs of the judiciary administered by people linked to the Ortega government. The President himself called him arrogant, deranged and energetic.
In addition to the 26 years and 4 months imprisonment, they stripped him of his Nicaraguan citizenship, like the exile prisoners and dozens of other critics. But for many, the ruling reaffirmed the priest as a symbol of the oppositional resistance in Nicaragua, whose main bastion is the Catholic Church.
Pope Francis himself recently launched an indictment against the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo in Nicaragua, which he has described as a “crude dictatorship” with undertones of “communist or Hitlerite dictatorship”. “There we have a bishop in prison, a very serious man, very capable. He wanted to make his statement and did not accept the exile,” the Pope said in statements to the Infobae portal.
For his part, the former auxiliary bishop of Managua, Silvio Báez, now in exile in the United States, used this Sunday’s homily in his parish in Miami to support his colleague. “He brought us great joy and we should all be glad to have seen him and to know that he is alive,” said the priest, as seen in a video of the Mass released by 100% Noticias. “The dictatorship has shown that it is afraid, that it is vulnerable and that it is afraid. That’s why they showed it. It is the fruit of the liberation of the Church and also of the efforts made at the international level to denounce this crime and to demand his freedom,” added Báez in the homily, demanding his freedom “because he is innocent “…
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