SW News: Close on the heels of a Nicaraguan prelate being given 26 years imprisonment on trumped-up charges, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has slammed the Sandinista regime for this unjust move. Bishop Rolando Alvarez of Matagalpa was found guilty of “undermining national security and sovereignty, spreading fake news through information technology and obstructing an official in the performance of his duties”. He was handed over the verdict after he refused to join 222 other political prisoners who were deported to the USA last week.

Bishop Alvarez has always been vocal in his criticism of the rights violations perpetrated by the regime led by President Daniel Ortega. USCIRF Commissioner Frederick A Davie said in a statement, “We are appalled that Bishop Álvarez will now serve 26 years in prison for raising concerns about Nicaragua’s many religious freedom violations. This miscarriage of justice will not be forgotten.”

Davie also urged the American government to pressure the Nicaraguan authorities to seek the release of the bishop at the earliest. USCIRF Commissioner Frank Wolf said that the Nicaraguan government releasing 222 political prisoners was a welcome gesture. However, it is not enough. The subsequent sentencing of Bishop Alvarez demonstrates that the regime’s campaign against the Catholic Church will not soon abate, he added in the statement. He appealed to the US government to use every tool at its disposal to encourage the restoration of democracy and human rights in the Latin American nation.

The Sandinista regime of Ortega and his wife Vice-President Rosario Murillo has been consistently persecuting the Church for its stand on human rights and freedom of expression. Last year, the government began a crackdown on nuns and priests. They expelled nuns belonging to the Missionaries of Charity from the country and closed down their NGOs. Priests and lay persons were arrested, including Bishop Alvarez, who was placed under house detention in the capital Managua.

Among those deported to the United States on February 9 include eight prisoners who were featured in the USCIRF Freedom of Religion or Belief Victims List.

Meanwhile, on Monday, Feb. 13, the bishops of the Latin American episcopate (CELAM) offered Holy Mass seeking Bishop Alvarez’s release at the tomb of St Oscar Romero in the Metropolitan Cathedral of San Salvador in El Salvador.