José Antonio Peraza
José Antonio Peraza Collado, the political scientist, who called for peaceful marches.
José Antonio Peraza Collado, 55 years old, is a political scientist, specialist in political and electoral systems, expert in development projects. He has been a university professor and columnist for the newspaper La Prensa.
He is a member of Unidad Azul y Blanco (UNAB), former director of Movimiento Político por Nicaragua (MPN), and member of the Grupo Promotor de Reformas Electorales (Promoting Group for Electoral Reforms) (GPRE), where he worked on proposals for a profound electoral reform in Nicaragua that would contribute to free and fair elections and reestablish confidence in the electoral system.
Since 2018 he was a critical voice of the repression of civic protests and the policies of the Ortega-Murillo government. As a civil society leader he called for peaceful demonstrations against the government, which led him to be subject to surveillance, harassment and persecution.
Between October 2018 and February 2021, he was detained on repeated occasions, receiving death threats from members of the police who warned him that “if you don’t stop messing with the Commander you will be found dead“. They also used propagandistic expressions such as “stop destabilizing the country”. On these occasions he was the victim of beatings and verbal abuse.
On July 26, 2021, José Antonio appeared as a guest on a morning political opinion program on a television channel in Nicaragua, which resulted in him being arbitrarily and illegally detained that same night at his home in Managua, where he was handcuffed.
His whereabouts were unknown for approximately 30 days, and it was later learned that he was transferred to the “El Nuevo Chipote” Judicial Assistance Directorate, where he is currently being held.
José Antonio was subjected to a judicial process in which the guarantees of due process were violated. He was accused by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the crime of conspiracy to commit undermining national integrity and on February 9, 2022 he was unjustly convicted by Judge Angel Jeancarlos Fernández, being sentenced to 10 years in prison and disqualified from holding public office.
The trial against José Antonio took place behind closed doors in the prisons of the Judicial Assistance Directorate, revealing the submission of the Judiciary to the police state imposed by the regime. After being notified of the sentence José Antonio expressed: “Soon we will be free from the dictatorship“.
He is in poor health, has sores on his body, lacerations on his buttocks, problems with one of his molars, prostate pain and a kidney infection. He has lost approximately 60 pounds of weight without receiving timely or specialized medical attention or medical treatment.
Considering the risks to his health and life, should he continue to be deprived of liberty in the aforementioned conditions, the IACHR granted precautionary measures on June 20, 2022, requiring the State to adopt the necessary measures to protect his personal integrity and health and to ensure that the conditions of detention are compatible with international standards.
Freedom for José Antonio Peraza!
We demand to the Ortega-Murillo regime: Free Nicas Now!
