IACHR Grants Precautionary Measures in Favor of Mauricio José Díaz Dávila, Max Isaac Jerez Meza, and Jaime José Arellano Arana in Nicaragua

October 15, 2021

Washington, D.C. – The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) issued Resolution 82/21 and Resolution 83/21 on October 12, 2021, to grant precautionary measures in favor of Mauricio José Díaz Dávila, of the party Citizens for Liberty; Max Isaac Jerez Meza, of the National University Alliance; and Jaime José Arellano Arana, a journalist. These precautionary measures were granted in the belief that the three men face a serious, urgent risk of suffering irreparable harm to their rights in Nicaragua.

The IACHR noted the beneficiaries' current situation, after being identified as government critics in a context where a general election is approaching in Nicaragua. In particular, the Commission noted that the three men were not allowed to communicate with their families and their chosen legal counsel while in detention. Arellano is under house arrest, but he too is being denied contact with his family and chosen lawyers. These conditions have seriously hampered the ability of these beneficiaries' representatives to obtain information about their clients' conditions. The Commission requested information from the State, but found that the response did not enable an adequate assessment of the extent to which the alleged risks had been neutralized.

Concerning Arellano Arana, the Commission asked the State to take the following action:

1. adopt any measures necessary to protect his rights to life and personal integrity and allow him timely contact with his family and lawyers;
2. take any measures necessary to enable him to do his work as a journalist without being subjected to intimidation, threats or any other acts of violence for doing such work (this includes taking measures to protect the right to freedom of expression, for example, by not obstructing the beneficiary's access to the tools he needs to practice journalism);
3. come to an agreement with the beneficiary and his representatives concerning any measures that need to be taken; and
4. report on any actions adopted to investigate the events that gave rise to the adoption of this precautionary measure, in order to prevent such events from happening again in the future.

Concerning Díaz Dávila and Jerez Meza, the IACHR asked the State to take the following action:

1. adopt any measures necessary to protect the rights to life, personal integrity, and health of Mauricio José Díaz Dávila and Max Isaac Jerez Meza;
2. ensure that their conditions of detention reflect the applicable international standards;
3. considering that these individuals' lives, personal integrity, and health are in danger as a result of the circumstances that surround their current deprivation of liberty, immediately assess the possibility of granting them alternatives to deprivation of liberty, in keeping with domestic regulations and with the applicable inter-American standards; and
4. report on any actions adopted to investigate the alleged events that gave rise to the adoption of these precautionary measures, in order to prevent such events from happening again in the future.

The fact that this precautionary measure has been granted and its adoption by the State do not entail a prejudgment on a potential petition that may be filed before the inter-American system to allege violations of rights protected by the American Convention on Human Rights and other applicable instruments.

A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote respect for and to defend human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this area. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in an individual capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 276/21

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