Indigenous leader Brooklyn Rivera dies in Nicaragua after nearly 3 years of detention
Source: AP
By DÁNICA COTO
Updated 5:09 PM CDT, May 31, 2026
Leer en español
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Brooklyn Rivera, a renowned Indigenous leader from Nicaragua who spent years fighting for the rights of his community and was imprisoned by the government in September 2023, has died.
The Nicaraguan government issued a statement Sunday saying that Rivera died from a bacterial infection after his health had declined following a case of COVID-19, which led to his physical and neurological deterioration.
Human rights activists and groups worldwide denounced his death and an earlier statement by the government in which they referred to Rivera as “Brother” and said they were praying for him.
“They took him alive, and after refusing to tell his family, his lawyer, the world anything about his fate, then they call him brother,” said Reed Brody, an American human rights lawyer and member of a group of U.N. experts on Nicaragua. “Unconscionable cynicism on the part of the government to make it seem like they were trying to help him.”
Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega speaks to supporters as his wife and Vice President Rosario Murillo applauds, in Managua, Nicaragua, Aug. 29, 2018. (AP Photo/Alfredo Zuniga, File)
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/nicaragua-political-prisoner-dies-brooklyn-rivera-3903824943aa2c57c0726fc2eaa0d0c2
= new reply since forum marked as read
