Christy Melissa Martínez
Cases- Case status
- Unknown
- Location of case in SG report
- 2022-058-001
- Relevant SG report
- Year of the report
- 2022
- From Country
- Country Geolocation
Latitude: 12.865416
Longitude: -85.207229
- Country Geolocation (linked Cases)
- Nicaragua
- From Region
- 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
a young student leader and women human rights defender
- Type of rights defended
- Civil/political rights
- Was the victim a civil servant, member of the security forces or of the judiciary?
- No
- Reported trigger of reprisal
engagement with UN human rights mechanisms on the arbitrary detention of Mr. John Christopher Cerna Zuñiga, also a student leader and a human rights defender. Between April and October 2021, Ms. Martínez shared information with mandate holders, including the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders and the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on the detention, sentencing, and ill-treatment of Mr. Cerna Zuñiga. In May and June 2021, mandate holders addressed allegations about Mr. Cerna Zuñiga’s situation (NIC 3/2021).
- Engagement with UN body
- UN Special Procedures: thematic
- Dates of engagement
- April-October 2021
- Type of attempted engagement
- Submission of information to UN
- UN raised case of person/organization
- Dates of mentioned reprisals
- 2021
- Location of mentioned reprisals
- Nicaragua
- Reprisal information
Following her interactions with the UN, Ms. Martinez’s reportedly experienced restrictions to visit Mr. Cerna Zuñiga, including a request by prison staff to sign documents committing not to share with international organizations the information she obtained during the visits. Her apartment was searched, and she was followed and intimidated by police officers. Ms. Martinez relocated within the country for a few months and, in October 2021, left Nicaragua fearing for her safety.
- Types of reprisals suffered
- Property damage/raid/search/confiscation
- Surveillance
- 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
- Was the case raised by a State at the UN?
- No
- 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