UN experts criticise Nicaragua over lawyers' licences

UN human rights experts on Monday criticised what they described as an ongoing purge of Nicaragua's legal profession after the government revoked work credentials for numerous lawyers without explanation.

The independent UN Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua said there were reasonable grounds to believe the Nicaraguan government was systematically stripping numerous lawyers of their legal licences. Group chair Jan-Michael Simon said in a statement that the experts had repeatedly condemned government interference with the judiciary, but that eliminating a large part of the legal profession was a new escalation.

Nicaragua's exile daily La Prensa reported last week that the names of about 2,000 lawyers had been removed from the Supreme Court of Justice registry in a matter of days, without explanation. The expert group said testimonies from affected people suggested there had been no prior notification, no legal basis provided and no official explanation. The statement said many found out only when they tried to enter courthouses, file legal papers or search for their names in the Supreme Court's digital registry.

The independent experts, who do not speak on behalf of the United Nations, warned that the move had effectively erased a vital part of Nicaragua's legal profession overnight and deprived citizens of their right to legal defence.

The group said the measures followed a sweeping purge of the judicial system that had been underway since October 2023, when police took control of the Supreme Court of Justice and removed senior officials. It said eight magistrates had resigned or been forced out since then, and more than 1,000 judicial employees had been dismissed.

The experts also said constitutional reforms last year stripped the judiciary of its status as an independent power and redefined it as an organ to be coordinated by co-presidents and spouses Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, who have ruled Nicaragua for nearly two decades with absolute power.

Group member Reed Brody said in the statement that the removal of lawyers was another blow to judicial independence in Nicaragua. He said international standards require that no one be barred from practising law without a fair hearing before an independent body, and said there had been no hearing and no independent body in these cases.