Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment has been made of the detention of opposition activists in Nicaragua.

The UK is most concerned at the unacceptable steps being taken by the Nicaraguan authorities to prevent opposition candidates and activists from taking part in November's presidential elections. The arrests and harassment of opposition figures represent further anti-democratic developments in Nicaragua at the behest of President Daniel Ortega. They violate the guarantees in Nicaragua's constitution, and further deprive the people of Nicaragua of the right to choose their own political leaders and parliamentary representatives freely.

Since the Nicaraguan authorities' lethal clampdown of protests in 2018, the UK has regularly voiced its concern over the country's deteriorating human rights and democratic situation. On 4 June, the UK issued a statement condemning the arrest and disqualification of potential presidential candidate, Cristiana Chamorro, alongside other international partners. On 15 June, as a Permanent Observer to the Organisation of American States, the UK voiced its support for the OAS' resolution condemning the arrests, and called for free and fair elections. We will continue to call on the authorities in Nicaragua to support the necessary steps for upholding the rights of all Nicaraguan voters in exercising their right to vote freely, safely, and without interference; to ensure that all political parties, their chosen candidates, and supporters can campaign freely and safely in advance of this year's elections; and to ensure that journalists and the media are allowed to operate impartially, and without restriction.