Nicaragua: Crimes against Christians are unlikely to be thoroughly investigated

Two incidents in September 2020 show the different ways Christians are exposed to attacks in the country:

• 10 September 2020: Unknown persons were deterred by security alarms and cameras when they tried to break into the facilities of Radio Santa Lucƒ­a, headquarters of the media outlet of the Catholic diocese of Matagalpa, as reported by the diocese on Facebook .
• 21 September 2020: Agenzia Fides reported the suspected murder of a 17 year old member of the Youth Ministry of the Matagalpa Catholic Church. His body was found bearing signs of violent attack. Days before his death, he had spoken out against recent criminal acts in the country through his Facebook account (Telenorte, 19 September 2020).

Rossana Ramirez, persecution analyst at World Watch Research, comments: "Due to the degree of corruption and the use of paramilitary and criminal groups to intimidate dissidents, it is very difficult to know whether criminal action against churches and Christians is "˜ordinary crime" or is being carried out in collusion with the authorities. In recent years, the Catholic community has been a particular target for attacks, especially on those who speak out against the irregularities of the government and highlight human rights violations. Such are the levels of impunity, that it is unlikely that the cases mentioned above will receive any thorough investigation by the authorities."