After releasing and deporting 222 political prisoners to the US last week and stripping them of the Nicaraguan citizenship, the Nicaraguan authorities announced this Wednesday that they were revoking the citizenship of a further 94 dissidents, and confiscating their property.

This constitutes a violation of their fundamental rights and is a breach of international law. Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights protects everyone’s right to a nationality and prohibits its arbitrary deprivation.

Such actions are unjustifiable, and risk deepening Nicaragua’s international isolation. The EU calls on the Nicaraguan authorities to immediately reverse these steps, and to cease persecution and reprisals against dissidents and human rights defenders.

The EU reaffirms its continued commitment to the Nicaraguan people and to defending democracy, the rule of law and human rights in the country.  Differences of opinion and political dissent should never serve as a pretext for the violation of fundamental rights and international law.