This Friday, May 1, 2026, United Nations experts asked the Nicaraguan authorities to provide “immediately” proof of life of the Miskito indigenous representative and leader. Brooklyn Riveraa victim of forced disappearance for more than two years.
In the event that he has died, he must be informed of “the circumstances and causes of death and the fate of his remains,” they indicated in a joint statement.
They recalled that Rivera, a deputy of the National Assembly, was arrested in September 2023 by members of the Nicaraguan National Police, and assured that “there is information that he could have died in detention.”
In the statement, the UN experts stressed that the detention conditions in Nicaragua are “inhuman” and in the case of those forcibly disappeared (at least 112 according to data managed by the United Nations) many of them could have been subjected to torture.
“Despite repeated requests from relatives, the police and prison authorities have systematically hidden the fate and whereabouts of these people,” they lamented.
“When a person is forcibly disappeared, it causes enormous suffering and anguish for their families, who are caught between hope and doubt about the fate of their loved ones.” they stated.
The statement is signed by, among others, the members of the UN Working Group on Forced Disappearances and the rapporteurs on extrajudicial executions (Morris Tidball-Binz) and freedom of opinion and expression.
