WHEREAS, our regional vice-president and general manager of La Prensa newspaper, Juan Lorenzo Holmann, has been wrongfully imprisoned since August 14 - as well as two other members of the newspaper's board of directors, who were also previously arrested;
WHEREAS, police agents raided the facilities of La Prensa without due process of law and, to date, no charges have been filed against the company - which remains seized;
WHEREAS, since May of this year the police prosecutor's office has issued summonses against dozens of persons considered to be against the regime - including several journalists and human rights defenders;
WHEREAS, in midnight raids against opposition leaders, two more journalists have been jailed - while 26 others have been forced to flee the country with their families;
WHEREAS, Principle 4 of the Chapultepec Declaration states that: "Kidnapping, coercion, intimidation, unjust imprisonment of journalists, physical destruction of the media, violence of any kind, and impunity for perpetrators severely restrict freedom of expression and of the press."
THE 77th IAPA GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLVES
To condemn the government of Daniel Ortega for its unconscionable attacks against the Nicaraguan civil society and, in particular, against freedom of the press and freedom of expression - as well as for the systematic imprisonment and intimidation of journalists;
To demand the immediate return to their rightful owners of La Prensa newspaper's facilities, wrongfully seized and ransacked by the police - as well as the release of Juan Lorenzo Holmann;
To demand the immediate release of all political prisoners, and that the regime allow free and transparent elections - instead of the climate of repression, impunity and injustice in which it intends to hold the November 7 elections.
