John Cerna

Two years of persecution against student leader John Cerna.

Since 2018 John Cerna has not lived in peace. He had to hide because of the persecution against him unleashed by the Ortega regime after, as a student leader, he participated in the peaceful protests in April of that year.

John actively participated in the student demonstrations in 2018 as part of the Movement for University Autonomy of the National University of Engineering and the Student Defense Movement of the Central American University. He has worked to raise awareness of the murders and human rights violations of political leaders, in medical and health brigades. In addition, John provided physical and digital security training, as well as workshops on human rights and university autonomy.

Cerna, who is also a human rights defender, moved from house to house so that he would not be found and in 2020, despite the fact that he thought he was already being followed, he did not have time to take action and was captured by the Police at the service of the regime and accused of trafficking narcotics, psychotropics and other controlled substances

He always denied that drugs were found on him and the police could not prove it either. What is certain is that Cerna was a student who wanted to live in a democratic Nicaragua and sought to professionalize himself by starting his studies in the public program of the National University of Engineering (UNI).

His parents, with great effort, helped him enter the private part of the same university and a year later he tried again in the public part, obtaining a place. Cerna believed in a competitive world of work and therefore also wanted to expand his knowledge by studying technical careers in masonry and electricity on the weekends.

As of April 2018, he was in his final year of college. Between him and his graduation there were only 8 subjects that he could not finish because he joined the civic demonstrations that year. In retaliation, the university authorities expelled him from the University where it had cost him so much to enter.

His state of health is delicate. At the time he was taken to “La Modelo”, he suffered from a lung injury and a separation of one of his shoulders, he also had neural damage, and two broken ribs from the kicks that a police officer gave him at the time of the arrest. The IACHR granted him precautionary measures from November 2, 2020, which the State has absolutely failed to comply with.

The United Nations Special Procedures also ruled in May 2021, regarding the arrest of Cerna, expressing their great concern about the misuse of national criminal legislation to the detriment of human rights defenders in relation to their human rights activities.
The Procedures are deeply concerned that for the exercise of their right to defend rights and for their participation in social protests, human rights defenders such as John Cerna are exposed to long-term prison sentences of 10 years or more.

The Procedures requested information from the State on the allegations received. John Cerna did not commit any crime. However, Judge Adela Cardoza sentenced him to 12 years for crimes that were not proven in court.

Freedom for John Cerna! 

We demand to the Ortega-Murillo regime: Free Nicas Now!