IACHR grants precautionary measures in favor of five individuals in Nicaragua

September 18, 2025

Washington, DC—The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) issued Resolution 65/2025 on September 16, 2025, to grant precautionary measures in favor of Armando José Bermúdez Mojica, Olga María Lara Rojas, Pedro José López Calero, Jessica María Palacios Vargas, and Rudy Antonio Palacios Vargas in Nicaragua, in the belief that they face a serious, urgent risk of suffering irreparable harm to their rights to life and personal integrity.

According to the request for these precautionary measures, the beneficiaries were arrested on July 17, 2025, at their homes in Jinotepe, Carazo. They were arrested by special operations officers of the National Police, allegedly for being members of a family that is critical of the Nicaraguan government. Their relatives and other loved ones say they have received no information about the beneficiaries' whereabouts or fate since then.

Following the arrests, people who are close to these individuals repeatedly visited various penitentiary facilities in Nicaragua to request that information about their whereabouts and condition. However, despite these queries, State authorities have allegedly provided no official details about them. The State failed to provide information to the IACHR on this issue.

After assessing the legal and factual allegations, the IACHR noted that the beneficiaries' families and others have no contact with them and have received no information about their whereabouts and legal status (including the case files against them, the procedural status of any investigations, the reasons for these arrests, whether the case has been subjected to judicial review, the beneficiaries' places and conditions of detention, and whether they have had access to legal counsel they trust).

Considering that their families and others have been unable to restore contact with the beneficiaries, the risks are allegedly being made worse by lack of information about their current condition and whereabouts. Given these circumstances, the IACHR considers that the beneficiaries face a serious, urgent risk of suffering irreparable harm to their rights. Consequently, in keeping with Article 25 of its Rules of Procedure, the IACHR asked the State of Nicaragua to take the following action:

1. Adopt any measures necessary to establish the whereabouts and condition of Armando José Bermúdez Mojica, Olga María Lara Rojas, Pedro José López Calero, Jessica María Palacios Vargas, and Rudy Antonio Palacios Vargas, in order to protect their rights to life and personal integrity
2. Formally state whether the beneficiaries have been charged with any crimes and whether they have been taken before the judicial authorities of competent jurisdiction (otherwise, say why they are being detained without charges and/or without judicial review)
3. Provide the details of their arrests and conditions of detention, including their places of detention, and say whether they have been granted access to their lawyers and families and to any healthcare assistance they may require
4. Report on any action taken 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 these precautionary measures have been granted and their adoption by the State of Nicaragua 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 applicable instruments.

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. 189/25

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