Sergio Castilblanco

Sergio Castilblanco: detained during Holy Week for being considered an oppositionist

During the religious celebrations of Holy Week 2023, Sergio Catarino Castilblanco Hernández, a primary education teacher, was captured on April 22, 2023, by the police of the Ortega-Murillo regime in the framework of the commemorations of the fifth anniversary of the April 2018 protests. 

Sergio was detained along with his wife, Jaqueline Rodriguez, who is also arbitrarily deprived of her liberty for political reasons. 

Sergio is originally from Jinotega, is 37 years old and after being arbitrarily detained he was transferred to the Jorge Navarro Penitentiary System known as “La Modelo”, where he has been held for almost a year. 

At the beginning of December 2023, different human rights organizations denounced that Sergio, as well as other inmates, among them Abdul Montoya, were savagely beaten by prison authorities because they decided to protest to demand better prison conditions. 

For 11 days they were taken to maximum security cells and deprived of access to basic necessities such as toilet paper, soap and toothpaste. 

In February, the Human Rights Collective Nicaragua Nunca Mas alerted about the health situation of Sergio, who is facing a difficult health condition since he is not allowed to receive medicines for his knee problems and stomach ailments that they attribute to the bicarbonate that they put in his food.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), granted precautionary measures to Sergio and 8 other persons deprived of liberty for political reasons “after considering that they are in a serious and urgent situation of risk of irreparable harm to their rights in Nicaragua”. 

Freedom for Sergio Castilblanco!

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