IACHR Grants Precautionary Measures in Favor of Three Individuals Who Are Deprived of Liberty in Nicaragua

August 6, 2024

Washington, D.C. – The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) issued Resolution 45/2024 on August 2, 2024, to grant precautionary measures in favor of three individuals who are deprived of liberty in Nicaragua, in the belief that they face a serious, urgent risk of suffering irreparable harm to their rights to life, personal integrity, and health.

The party who requested these precautionary measures said that Douglas Acevedo Castillo, Anner Herrera, and Geovanny Jaret Guido Morales are currently being held in the Jorge Navarro Prison Complex in Tipitapa, known as "La Modelo," in inadequate conditions of detention and without the medical care they need to treat various health problems. The three allegedly face violence including beatings and intimidation at the hands of penitentiary officers, as well as other forms of ill-treatment.

The proposed beneficiaries are allegedly legally vulnerable, for lack of access to their case files and for lack of an effective legal defense. The State failed to provide information to prove that the risk factors that had been identified had been adequately mitigated.

After assessing the legal and factual allegations, the IACHR considers that the beneficiaries are at risk. The Commission noted that the risks faced by these individuals may become increasingly harmful for their rights, considering that they are deprived of liberty and considering their health condition, their lack of access to adequate medical care, the violence they have reportedly faced, and their conditions of detention. Consequently, in keeping with Article 25 of its Rules of Procedure, the IACHR asked the State of Nicaragua to take the following action:

1. Adopt any measures necessary to protect the beneficiaries' rights to life, personal integrity, and health (in particular, by officially reporting on their current condition, considering that they are in State custody)
2. Implement any measures necessary to ensure that the beneficiaries' conditions of detention reflect the applicable international standards and include the following actions: (i) ensuring that they are not subjected to threats, intimidation, physical violence, or torture within penitentiary facilities; (ii) granting the beneficiaries access to adequate specialized medical care and to any necessary treatment and/or medication, and immediately conducting a comprehensive medical examination of their current health condition; and (iii) considering the option of granting them alternatives to deprivation of liberty, given that it is impossible to protect their rights in their current conditions of detention
3. Come to an agreement with the beneficiaries and their representatives concerning any measures that need to be taken
4. Report on any actions adopted to investigate the alleged events that gave rise to the adoption of these precautionary measures, in order to prevent such events from happening again in the future, particularly regarding the allegations of torture made by the party who requested these measures

The fact that these precautionary measures have been granted and their adoption by the State do not entail a prejudgment on a potential petition that may be filed before the inter-American system to allege violations of rights protected by the American Convention on Human Rights and other applicable instruments.

A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote respect for and to defend human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this area. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in an individual capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 177/24

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