Félix Alejandro Maradiaga
Cases- Location of case in SG report
- 2019-078-011
- Relevant SG report
- Year of the report
- 2019
- From Country
- 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
- Dates of prior UN action
- 7 noviembre 2018
- Type of record
- Named individual
- Gender
- Male
- Was the victim a foreign national?
- No
- Was the victim a minor?
- No
- Type of rights defended
- Unclear in SG Report
- Was the victim a civil servant, member of the security forces or of the judiciary?
- No
- Reported trigger of reprisal
those who regularly share information on human rights violations with OHCHR
On 5 September 2018, Mr. Maradiaga participated in an information session on Nicaragua related to the UN Security Council in New York.
- Engagement with UN body
- Other
- Dates of engagement
- 5 September 2018
- Type of attempted engagement
- Participation in meeting on UN premises
- Submission of information to UN
- Dates of mentioned reprisals
- 24 September 2018
- Location of mentioned reprisals
- Managua
- Reprisal information
harassment and persecution: Those affected have reported threats, harassments and smear campaigns on social media. Their homes and families have been under surveillance by police officers and pro-government armed elements. In some instances, their relatives suffered attacks against their life and personal integrity.
A week later, on 24 September 2018, a criminal court in the district of Managua issued a warrant for his arrest on charges of organized crime and financing of terrorist activities, reportedly for his cooperation with the UN. Prior, on 9 July 2018, the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights had granted Mr. Maradiaga precautionary measures responding to a sequence of attacks, threats, death threats against him and his family, as well as stigmatization by public officials. Due to this situation, Mr. Maradiaga left the country.
- Types of reprisals suffered
- Defamation / Defamation campaign
- Family/friends/acquaintances targeted
- Online harassment
- Surveillance
- Threats/Intimidations (incl. "fear of reprisal")
- Alleged/likely perpetrators
- Both state and non-state actors
- Was the reprisal based on new legislation?
- No
- Does the report make general comment about country’s environment for engagement with UN?
- No
- Government response dates
- 27 November 2018
- Government response content
Regarding the situation of Mr. Maradiaga, the Government informed that there was an arrest warrant against him on charges of organized crime and financing of terrorist activities, as per articles 393 and 395 of the Criminal Code.
- 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?
- 2
- In which SG report was this case followed up on? 0
- 2022
- Follow up information provided in SG report 0
- The case of Mr. Félix Alejandro Maradiaga, a political scientist and executive director of the Institute for Strategic Studies and Public Policy (IEEPP) whose legal status was cancelled in 2018, was included in the 2018 report of the Secretary-General on allegations of an arrest warrant following his briefing to the UN Security Council on the situation in Nicaragua on 5 September 2018 (S/PV.8340, pages 4–5). On 19 July 2021, mandate-holders addressed allegations of the detention and disappearance of Mr. Maradiaga on 8 June 2021 following questioning by the police about his international activities, notably in relation to the Organization of American States and the UN Security Council (NIC 5/2021). Mr. Maradiaga was part a group of individuals who had registered as pre-candidates for an internal primary election or had publicly expressed their intention to run for the 21 November 2021 Presidential elections (A/HRC/49/23, para. 8). According to information received by OHCHR, Mr. Maradiaga was convicted on 3 March 2022 to 13 years in prison under Law No. 1055 (on the defence of the rights of the people to independence, sovereignty, and self-determination for peace for “undermining national integrity”). Reportedly, prosecutors presented as evidence the testimony that he gave at the United Nations Security Council in 2018
- Followup Trends 0
- Deterioration/further reprisals
- Date of follow up 0
- 19 July 2021
- Did the government respond? 0
- No
- Was this case followed up by a UN body? 0
- UN Special Procedures: Thematic
- UN Special Procedures: UN Special Procedures - General
- In which SG report was this case followed up on? 1
- 2023
- Follow up information provided in SG report 1
- The case of Mr. Félix Alejandro Maradiaga was included in the 2019 and 2022 reports of the Secretary-General134 for an arrest warrant in 2018135 and conviction in March 2022 and sentencing to 13 years in prison under Law No. 1055 in connection to his briefing to the UN Security Council in September 2018 (S/PV.8340, pages 4–5). Mr. Maradiaga is a political scientist, was the executive director of the Institute for Strategic Studies and Public Policy (IEEPP) and a pre-candidate for the 2021 presidential elections. 136 According to information received by OHCHR, on 9 February 2023 Mr. Maradiaga and another 221 persons were arbitrarily deprived of their liberty and deported from Nicaragua based on an order from the Court of Appeals of Managua.137 Mr. Maradiaga, together with the others, was also arbitrarily deprived of his nationality and his records were reportedly erased from the Civil Registry, which had multiple negative impacts on his human rights.
- Followup Trends 1
- Deterioration/further reprisals
- Did the government respond? 1
- No