IACHR takes to Inter-American Court case concerning Nicaragua about the use of lethal force in social protests

December 31, 2025

Washington, DC—The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) filed on December 10, 2025, an application before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Case 14,282, with regard to Nicaragua. The case concerns a petition that was submitted to the IACHR in May 2018, regarding injuries caused by officers of the State to César Noé Castillo Castillo in the context of a protest that year, his subsequent death, and the impunity that has since surrounded these events.

César Noé Castillo Castillo, 42, suffered a gunshot wound on April 20, 2018, during a social protest in Estelí, Nicaragua, that was repressed by the National Police and by individuals in plain clothes. He was shot in the upper body while he was assisting another injured person. Despite his serious condition, he was discharged from hospital twice, and he subsequently died of acute respiratory failure.

Following his death, the relevant investigation was shelved, with the argument that the person who had fired the shot had not been identified. Later, applying the 2019 Amnesty Act, the case was closed. The petitioners further alleged that the victim’s family had been subjected to threats and harassment, which had forced them to leave the country.

In Admissibility and Merits Report 49/25, the IACHR found that the State had failed to counter allegations that its own officers had shot at demonstrators including César Noé Castillo Castillo during the April 2018 protest. The IACHR noted that the State had failed to provide information about the regulatory framework or the legitimate purpose of using lethal force. The IACHR also took into consideration the fact that the victim was an unarmed civilian who had not been exercising violence, so there were less harmful crowd control alternatives available. The IACHR therefore concluded that the use of lethal force had been arbitrary.

The IACHR also assessed the events that followed the initial shot that injured the victim. The IACHR noted that timely and adequate medical care had not been documented and that the subsequent judicial investigation had had serious deficiencies, including a failure to conduct essential procedures, the fact that the Amnesty Act was enforced, and the subsequent closure of the case. The IACHR also took into consideration the impact of these events on the victim’s family, including additional suffering caused by impunity and forced displacement of his sister and other members of the family.

The IACHR therefore concluded that the State of Nicaragua was liable for violations of the rights to life, personal integrity, freedom of assembly, and health, in keeping with the obligations held in Article 1.1 of the American Convention, with regard to César Noé Castillo Castillo. The IACHR also found that the State of Nicaragua was liable for violations of the rights to mental and moral integrity, judicial guarantees, and judicial protection held in Articles 5.1, 8.1, and 25.1 of the same instrument, in keeping with the obligations held in Articles 1.1 and 2 of that instrument, with regard to César Noé Castillo Castillo’s family. Further, the IACHR found that the State of Nicaragua was liable for violations of the rights to the family and to freedom of movement and residence held in Articles 17.1 and 22.1 of the American Convention, in keeping with the obligations held in Article 1.1, and the rights of the child held in Article 19 of the same instrument, with regard to Miriam Lizeth Castillo Castillo and adolescents A.L.C.C. and E.N.C.C.

The IACHR therefore asked the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to demand that the State take the following measures:

1. Provide comprehensive reparations for the rights violations mentioned in the report, including financial and other compensation for material and immaterial damage
2. Ensure that Miriam Lizeth Castillo Castillo may return to Nicaragua safely, and provide physical and mental healthcare to César Noé Castillo Castillo’s relatives, should they want such healthcare, in agreement with them
3. Launch a criminal investigation and conduct it in a diligent, effective, and timely manner, with a view to establishing what happened, identifying anyone responsible for those events, and imposing the relevant punishment, without invoking terms like statute of limitations, amnesty, or res judicata
4. Adopt guarantees of non-recurrence, including legislative changes, reviews of standards and protocols concerning the use of force, investigations of the context of violence during protests, comprehensive reparation plans, training for law enforcement officers, accountability mechanisms, and strengthened investigative capacity

The IACHR is an autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS) whose mandate is based on the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. Its mission is to promote and defend human rights throughout the Americas and to serve as an advisory body to the OAS in this area. The IACHR consists of seven independent members elected by the OAS General Assembly who serve in a personal capacity and do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 291/25

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