Biden administration hails ‘positive’ step as Nicaragua releases 222 political prisoners

A senior administration official says the Nicaraguan government unilaterally released the group of 222 political prisoners

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The Biden administration is praising Nicaragua’s release of 222 political prisoners as a “positive and welcome” step that could portend a return of democracy to the impoverished Central American country.

A senior administration official told The Independent on Thursday that the Nicaraguan government “decided unilaterally to release 222 individuals whom they had imprisoned,” some of whom “have spent years in prison, many of them for exercising their fundamental freedoms, in awful conditions and with no access to due process”.

As of Thursday morning, the 222 former prisoners were on a US-funded flight bound for Washington.

“The United States facilitated the transportation of those individuals once released from Nicaraguan custody to the United States, where they will be paroled for humanitarian reasons into the country for a period of two years,” the official said, adding that all of the ex-prisoners voluntarily chose to leave and consented to being transported to the US.

They will be offered medical and legal assistance, and met with resettlement aid once they reach the US.

“The United States continues to prioritize support for the Nicaraguan people and their fundamental freedoms and human rights,” the official said.

“We have long called for the release of individuals imprisoned in Nicaragua for exercising their fundamental freedoms as a first step towards the restoration of democracy and an improved human rights climate in Nicaragua. The decision of the Nicaraguan Government is a positive and welcome one. We remain steadfast in encouraging additional steps by the Government of Nicaragua to restore civil liberties and democracy for the Nicaraguan people”.