Nicaraguan Indigenous Leader Dies in Custody

(Patria) - The Ministry of Health announced on Sunday that Nicaraguan indigenous leader Brooklyn Rivera died from health complications after nearly three years in detention, despite US appeals for his release, AFP reported.

Rivera, a 73-year-old prominent leader of the Miskito people and former member of parliament, was arrested in September 2023 by the left-wing authoritarian government of President Daniel Ortega on charges that were never made public.

Amnesty International considered him a prisoner of conscience.

"We regretfully confirm that he has, unfortunately, passed away," the Ministry of Health told the media.

The ministry stated that Rivera's "physical and neurological deterioration was the result of a bacterial infection caused by the COVID-19 virus."

They added that doctors made "enormous and intensive" efforts to save his life.

Rivera was the leader of the indigenous party Yatama (Children of Mother Earth United), which defends the rights of Nicaragua's indigenous communities.

On Wednesday, the government released photographs of him attached to a respirator and visibly emaciated, after acknowledging that his condition was "critical."

Following these images, the United States called for Rivera's release.

The authorities never disclosed the basis for his arrest.

But according to press reports, in November 2024 the government informed the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights that his parliamentary immunity had been lifted in order to launch an investigation against him for serious crimes, including treason.