NICARAGUA: ARBITRARY DETENTION OF JAIME ENRIQUE NAVARRETE BLANDÓN

The International League Against Arbitrary Detention urges the Government of Nicaragua to take all the necessary actions to implement the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention Opinion No. 48/2024 concerning Jaime Enrique Navarrete Blandón, asking the Government of Nicaragua to immediately and unconditionally release him and to accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations in accordance with international law.

Read the full WGAD Opinion concerning Jaime Enrique Navarrete Blandón (Nicaragua)]: Opinion No. 48/2024.

ARRESTED UNDER ALLEGATIONS OF ENDANGERING PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY

Jaime Enrique Navarrete Blandón, born in 1983, is a Nicaraguan national, known by the police forces for his opposition to the Nicaraguan government.

He was first arrested on the 15th of June 2018 as a reprisal for his participation in the April 2018 anti-government protests. He was subjected to severe torture, including beatings that fractured his ribs, electric shocks, burns with cigarettes and acid, and sexual violence. He was also interrogated about alleged ties to the CIA and accused of attempting to destabilise Nicaragua. On 12 October 2018, the Third District Criminal Trial Court of Managua sentenced him to 22 years’ imprisonment for aggravated murder and nine months for the crime of illegal possession of a firearm or ammunition. However, he was released under a government amnesty (Amnesty Law No. 996) granted to a large number of political prisoners in the country on the 10th of June 2019.

He was then detained again on the 24th of July 2019 and charged with possession of narcotics, psychotropic substances, and illegal possession of firearms, based on the allegation that he had endangered public health and safety. On the 12th of August 2022, the Sixth District Criminal Court referred his case for sentence unification, citing the pending 2018 conviction case for which he had previously received amnesty. On 21st of November 2022, the Fourth District Criminal Court ordered the joinder of both cases. The source submitted that the deprivation of liberty of Mr. Navarrete Blandón starting July 2019 was arbitrary.

Although the submissions were forwarded to the government of Nicaragua, no response was issued.

ARRESTED AND DETAINED WITH NO LEGAL BASIS

The source submitted that Mr. Navarrete Blandón was arrested on the 24th of July 2019 without being presented with an arrest warrant, which is in clear violation of articles 3 and 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 9(1) of Covenant. In fact, his detention lacked a legal basis, as he was not caught in flagrante delicto, and the authorities failed to justify the arrest with an appropriate legal ground.

Following his violent arrest, it is alleged that Mr. Navarrete Blandón was held without being informed of the charges against him which violated his fundamental right to liberty and security, in contravention of article 9(1) of the Covenant and articles 3 and 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Furthermore, Mr. Navarrete Blandón was only brought before a judge 86 hours after his arrest, significantly exceeding the 48-hour limit established under article 9(3) of the Covenant. The Working Group observed that the authorities provided no justification for this delay, despite the fact that his defence raised this issue during the preliminary hearing. In addition, it affirmed that a delay beyond 48 hours constituted a violation of due process, further reinforcing the arbitrary nature of his detention.

According to the source, Mr. Navarrete Blandón was not provided with an opportunity to challenge the legality of his detention despite being detained under dubious circumstances. His defence raised the aforementioned procedural irregularities, yet these challenges were dismissed. So, the Working Group accepted that  the failure to provide a genuine avenue for judicial review constituted a serious breach of his right to personal liberty, in violation of article 9(2) of the Covenant.

Finally, it was submitted that the authorities placed Mr. Navarrete Blandón in pre-trial detention without a reasonable duration, In that regard, the Working Group reiterated that pre-trial detention should be an exceptional measure, justified only by legitimate legal grounds, and should not serve as a form of punishment, otherwise, it would be in direct violation of article 9(3) of the Covenant.

The Working Group welcomed the aforementioned source’s submitions and found that Mr. Navarrete Blandón’s detention lacked a proper legal basis from the outset and was stained by multiple procedural violations of international human rights law.

In light of the above, the  Working Group concluded that the detention of Mr. Navarrete Blandón was arbitrary under Category I.

VIOLATION OF HIS RIGHTS TO FREEDOM OF OPINION AND EXPRESSION AND PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY AND ASSOCIATION

The source submitted that the detention of Mr. Navarrete Blandón was a direct consequence of the exercise of his fundamental rights to freedom of opinion and expression, as enshrined in article 19 of the Covenant and article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as his freedom of peaceful assembly and association, protected under article 21 of the Covenant  and article 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The Working Group accepted that Mr. Navarrete Blandón was arrested and imprisoned in reprisal for his political ideology and public opposition to the Government of Nicaragua, aiming to silence his activism and prevent his participation in Nicaragua’s political and democratic life. It shed light on the fact that there was a pattern of persecution dating back to his participation in the April 2018 anti-government protests. In fact, it considered that the persistent harassment, intimidation, threats, and arbitrary detentions suffered by Mr. Navarrete Blandón underscored the systematic repression of dissent in Nicaragua.

Consequently, the Working Group transmitted the case to the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, as well as the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

In conclusion, the detention of Mr. Navarrete Blandón was classified as arbitrary and falling under Category II.

VIOLATION OF HIS RIGHT TO A FAIR TRIAL

According to the source, Mr. Navarrete Blandón was denied his fundamental fair trial guarantees, as his case was adjudicated under a judicial system reportedly controlled by the Executive, failing to ensure judicial independence and impartiality. Moreover, it submitted that the prohibition of double jeopardy (non bis in idem) under article 14(7) of the Covenant and article 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was violated, as the Nicaraguan authorities initiated new proceedings against him despite his prior amnesty under Law No. 996. This effectively meant that he was being prosecuted for acts for which he had already been pardoned, constituting a clear breach of international human rights standards.

Further, it was put forward that Mr. Navarrete Blandón was denied proper access to his lawyer, with the judicial proceedings failing to take into account exculpatory evidence, including testimonies contradicting the prosecution’s claims. The judicial authority disregarded all defence arguments and solely accepted the prosecution’s assertions, violating his right to an effective defence and further undermining the fairness of the trial. In fact, the source alleged that the Nicaraguan President publicly labelled Mr. Navarrete Blandón as a “mercenary” and a “coup plotter”, pre-emptively declaring him guilty before any judicial determination. In that regard, the Working Group confirmed that the presumption of innocence, guaranteed under article 14(2) of the Covenant and article 11(1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, was violated. It viewed the abovementioned facts as having compromised the independence and impartiality of the judiciary and reinforced concerns about political interference in his case.

In light of the above, the Working Group concluded that the serious procedural violations rendered Mr. Navarrete Blandón’s detention arbitrary under Category III.

DISCRIMINATORY TREATMENT BECAUSE OF HIS STATUS AS A POLITICAL OPPONENT

In the source’s view, Mr. Navarrete Blandón’s arrest was linked directly to his political activism, making it a clear instance of arbitrary detention based on political opinion. This submission was accepted by the Working Group which found that his detention was part of a broader pattern of persecution against political opponents, characterized by threats, violence, and arbitrary arrests. This discriminatory treatment was considered a violation of articles 2 and 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and articles 2(1) and 26 of the Covenant.

Furthermore, despite being granted amnesty in 2019, Mr. Navarrete Blandón was subsequently threatened with re-incarceration and arrested again only 44 days after his release, in retaliation for his public denunciations. Given the lack of governmental response and the prima facie credible allegations, the Working Group considered these events as reflecting reflects a pattern of harassment and intimidation aimed at silencing dissent, which is a direct violation of his right to equality before the law under article 26 of the Covenant.

Finally, the Working Group concluded that Mr. Navarrete Blandón’s detention was arbitrary under Category V, as it was directly related to his political opinions and activities.

CONCLUSIONS OF THE UN WORKING GROUP AGAINST ARBITRARY DETENTION

In light of the foregoing, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention considered that the detention of Mr. Navarrete Blandón was arbitrary and fell under categories I, II, III, and V because his deprivation of liberty was in contravention of articles 2, 3, 7, 9, 10, 11, 19 y 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; and articles 2, 9, 14, 19, 21 y 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The WGAD urged the Government of Nicaragua to take immediate measures to remedy Mr. Navarrete Blandón’s situation, ensuring compliance with relevant international standards, particularly those outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Working Group considered that, taking into account all the circumstances of the case, the appropriate solution would be to immediately release him and grant him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law.