GENEVA: The United Nations on Tuesday said a law newly passed by the Nicaraguan parliament could lead to greater repression against citizens in exile.
A new law came into force last week in Nicaragua to prosecute its nationals, including those living abroad, over anti-government actions -- a move slammed by exiles as a "tool of transnational repression".
Nicaraguans could face up to 30 years in prison and confiscation of property for acts such as "offences against public administration", "cybercrimes" and "offences against the State or institutions".
"These reforms could be used to intensify persecution and repression against Nicaraguans, including those in exile," said Christian Salazar Volkmann of the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR).
President Daniel Ortega, a 78-year-old former leftist guerrilla who battled US-backed forces in the 1980s, returned to power in 2007 and initially had appeared more moderate.
But he has since lifted presidential term limits, seized control of all branches of government and led a sweeping crackdown on groups including the Catholic Church and NGOs seen as threats to his rule.
More than 5,500 NGOs -- most recently Save the Children -- have been shut down since Ortega was spooked in 2018 by mass protests in which the United Nations estimates that 300 people died.
Thousands of Nicaraguans have fled since the unrest, and Ortega's government is under US and European Union sanctions.
'Serious' deterioration
The law came into effect one day after the central American country's strongman freed 135 political prisoners who flew to safety in Guatemala in a deal negotiated by the United States.
Giaconda Belli, a poet who was stripped of her Nicaraguan citizenship and has lived in exile in Spain since 2023, called at the UN Human Rights Council for an end to "harassment against critical voices".
"The rights of all people who want to live in Nicaragua must be protected and promoted, those who are in exile have the right to a safe return and to live their lives in peace in their country," said Salazar.
OHCHR in its annual report on the situation in Nicaragua warned last week of a "serious" deterioration under Ortega and his wife, vice-president Rosario Murillo.
The report cited violations such as arbitrary arrests of opponents, torture, ill-treatment in detention, ramped up violence against indigenous people and attacks on religious freedom.
Nicaragua Attorney General Wendy Morales in a video blamed "injustices, biases and illegalities" in the document, which she said was produced "with a specific agenda".