The government of Nicaragua has cracked down on one of the country’s last remaining independent television stations. The night before yesterday, policemen had invaded the building of „100% Noticias“ and detained director Miguel Mora and withdrew the broadcasting license, the broadcaster reported on its website.
Mora is accused of terrorism and incitement, wrote the head of the human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) in America, Jose Miguel Vivanco, on Twitter. The case is a further violation of freedom of expression in the Central American country, Vivanco criticized. He called the government of authoritarian president Daniel Ortega a dictatorship.
In addition to Mora, the well-known journalist Lucia Pineda was arrested. Since she has the Nicaraguan and the citizenship of Costa Rica, contacted the consulate of the neighboring country in Managua, according to the newspaper „La Jornada“, in order to achieve their release. Working for media professionals is becoming increasingly difficult in Nicaragua. The government had already cracked down on media companies in mid-December and had searched offices.
Riots demanded hundreds of lives
There has been unrest in the Central American country since April. At that time, Ortega had triggered protests with a planned social reform. Although he withdrew the reform, the people still demanded his resignation. Policemen and pro-government thugs attacked the protesters. Since the beginning of the crisis, more than 500 people have been killed, many of them civilians, according to human rights groups.
