Amaya Coppen

Cases
Location of case in SG report
2020-087-001
Relevant SG report
Year of the report
2020
Country Geolocation

Latitude: 12.865416

Longitude: -85.207229

Country Geolocation (linked Cases)
Nicaragua
From Region
UN body that raised the case prior to the SG report
  • UN Special Procedures: Thematic
  • UN (Dep.) High Commissioner on Human Rights
Dates of prior UN action
19 November 2019; 21 January 2020
Type of record
Named individual
Gender
Female
Was the victim a foreign national?
No
Was the victim a minor?
No
Individual's/organization's activity

student leader, who was detained in the context of the 2018 protests in the city of León and released in June 2019 under the Amnesty Law.

Type of rights defended
  • Unclear in SG Report
Was the victim a civil servant or member of the security forces or of the judiciary?
No
Reported trigger of reprisal

had travelled to Geneva in September 2019 to meet with the High Commissioner and engaged with UN human rights mechanisms, a photo of which was posted on social media.

In August 2019, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found Ms. Coppens’ detention in the context of the 2018 protests arbitrary (A/HRC/WGAD/2019/43, para. 60, 66, 85, 90, 93) and called on the Government to provide her compensation and other reparations (paras. 94–95).

Engagement with UN body
  • UN Special Procedures: thematic
  • UN (Dep.) High Commissioner on Human Rights
  • Unclear
Dates of engagement
August 2019; September 2019
Type of attempted engagement
  • Participation in meeting on UN premises
  • UN raised case of person/organization
Dates of mentioned reprisals
Unclear; December 2019
Reprisal information

detention of, and charges against. The mandate holders addressed physical violence as well as discriminatory remarks and threats of rape that women in the group suffered, as well as Ms. Coppens’ conditions of detention. In December 2019, it was reported to OHCHR that two close relatives of Ms. Coppens were physically assaulted by a group of armed individuals and that her house was attacked when she was released from prison.

Types of reprisals suffered
  • Charge/Investigation/Prosecution: Charge/Investigation/Prosecution - General
  • Detention/Imprisonment: Detention/Imprisonment - General
  • Family/friends/acquaintances targeted
  • Physical attack: Physical attack - General
  • Property damage/raid/search/confiscation
  • Threats/Intimidations (incl. "fear of reprisal")
Alleged/likely perpetrators
State actors
Was the reprisal based on new legislation?
No
Does the report make general comment about country’s environment for engagement with UN?
Yes
Further case development

she was released from prison around December 2019

Is the country cited for a "pattern of reprisal" in the context of this case?
No
Is a pattern of reprisals mentioned otherwise in the context of this case?
No
Does the report cite "self-censorship" as an issue in the context of this case?
No
How many times has the case been followed up in subsequent SG reports?
0