Photograph: Flickr
UN human rights experts have demanded an independent investigation into the death in state custody of Indigenous Miskito leader Brooklyn Rivera, warning that his prolonged enforced disappearance and death may amount to crimes against humanity for which the Nicaraguan government bears legal responsibility.
Rivera, a 73-year-old lawmaker and president of the dissolved Yatama party, died after more than 32 months in custody, his family informed on 30 May. The government of co-presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo attributed his death to a bacterial infection following a bout of Covid-19, an account rights advocates have rejected.
He had been arrested in September 2023 on his return to Nicaragua from the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York, after which authorities prevented him from re-entering the country. For nearly two years the government would not even confirm he was in custody.
The UN Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua condemned the death in the strongest terms and expressed alarm that authorities had taken control of his remains and detained relatives who came to claim them. "Failure to conduct an independent investigation and return the remains reinforces the strong presumption of State responsibility for Brooklyn Rivera's death in state custody," said the Group's chair, Jan-Michael Simon.
Expert member Ariela Peralta said his treatment carried individual criminal responsibility. "Rivera's enforced disappearance while under State custody constitutes an international crime for which the Government of Nicaragua is legally responsible," she said. "When a disappeared person dies, the actions that led to this consequence may also constitute multiple crimes against humanity, including murder, torture and persecution, in addition to enforced disappearance itself."
A letter the Group sent to the government on 12 March demanding information on Rivera's fate went unanswered. The experts noted that 124 Indigenous leaders were subjected to arbitrary detention in Nicaragua between 2018 and 2024, and that at least six political prisoners have died in custody since 2019.
Rivera spent four decades campaigning for Miskito autonomy over ancestral land on Nicaragua's Caribbean coast, territory rich in gold and other resources long coveted by state and business interests. "Brooklyn Rivera spent 40 years fighting for his people, and hopefully the international community will finally pay attention," said Reed Brody, a member of the UN panel.