Francisco Xavier Pineda Guatemala, the loving father who became a political prisoner
Francisco Xavier Pineda Guatemala, 37 years old, originally from Managua, a bricklayer by trade, is a father dedicated to caring for and protecting his four children aged 12, 9, 7 and 5 years old. He participated in marches starting in April 2018 and in the roadblocks located in the Villa Austria sector in Managua.
Due to his active participation in the protests, on January 23, 2019, the police came to his home located in a neighborhood of Managua and upon not finding him they took his wife, in the presence of his four children. The next day he was arrested.
Francisco was accused by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, for the crime of manufacturing, trafficking, possession and use of restricted weapons or explosive devices, he was sentenced by Judge Pedro Altamirano to four years and 6 months in prison and to pay a fine of 16 thousand cordobas.
He is currently serving a sentence in the Jorge Navarro Penitentiary System known as “La Modelo”. 8 years ago, Francisco Xavier had undergone colostomy surgery on his stomach, after which he needed to use a plastic device that functions as an intestine and required medical follow-up, however the prison authorities have not allowed him to have it properly. Francisco Xavier, prior to his detention, was a member of an evangelical church, however the prison authorities do not allow him to participate in the religious services held in the prison system.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) granted him precautionary measures in November 2020, along with 40 other political prisoners, where it resolved that the State of Nicaragua should adopt the possibility of alternative measures to the deprivation of liberty, but the regime has refused to abide by them.
Freedom for Francisco Xavier Pineda Guatemala!
We demand the Ortega-Murillo regime: NcasLibresYa!