Nicaraguan indigenous leader Brooklyn Rivera dies after three years detained
Brooklyn Rivera, 73, the prominent indigenous spokesperson on Nicaragua's Caribbean coast, has died after three years in arbitrary detention. Rights organisations condemned the death and called for an international investigation into the circumstances.
BBC Latin AmericaAccording to the BBC, Rivera was detained by Nicaraguan security forces in 2023 and spent the following three years in a custodial setting with severely restricted outside contact. A founder of the indigenous Yama movement, he was widely known for advocating land-rights claims of the Miskito people on the Caribbean coast.
Amnesty International's Americas Director Erika Guevara-Rosas said the Nicaraguan government had failed to provide adequate medical care to Rivera. Human Rights Watch Americas Director Juanita Goebertus said the organisation will request an international investigative mechanism through the UN Human Rights Council. Inter-American Commission Executive Secretary Tania Reneaum Panszi announced an independent review of the case.
Civil-society groups in Nicaragua reported that Caribbean-coast indigenous communities are in mourning and that calls for a dignified funeral continue. EU Council spokesperson Anitta Hipper said Brussels considers an 'urgent reassessment of the human-rights dialogue with the Nicaraguan government' necessary. US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce issued a statement expressing 'deep concern'.
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