The Nicaraguan government, on Monday, expelled the feminist and human rights defender Ana Quirós. Although there was no official statement from the Nicaraguan authorities, Costa Rican Foreign Minister Epsy Cambell announced Monday night on her official Twitter account.
Costa Rican authorities confirmed that Ana Quirós has already been deported and soon there were published audios of Quirós arrival to the border of Peñas Blancas.
The General Directorate of Migration and Immigration warned three other defenders of the Colectivo de Mujeres de Matagalpa (Collective of Women of Matagalpa), to refrain from participating in political activities due to their status as foreign residents.
Beatrice Uber, a citizen of Switzerland and the sisters Ana María and Ana de Jesús Ara Soberriba, of Spain, are the activists cited to immigration warning.
The government withdrew the residence cards of the Matagalpa activists and had them sign a document in which they pledge not to participate more in political activities.
In the same way, they were told that they must appear to immigration every 15 days, while they process a new residency application.
“They made us sign a document, something that we already knew we should not do, in which we committed ourselves not to participate in political activities. They took our residence card and we have to start again as if applying the first time. We, in the last 33 years of living here, have only had to renew “, explained Ana María Ara Sobarriba, after leaving immigration.
Notified on Saturday
Juanita Jiménez, executive director of the Movimiento Autónomo de Mujeres (MAM) – Autonomous Women’s Movement, explained that Quirós has Nicaraguan nationality, and last Saturday she was notified that she had to appear at immigration on Monday. In the citation, the reasons were not specified, only to be there at 10 am.
Before going to the interview, the activist tried to file an appeal for review before the Court of Appeals of Managua (TAM), in the Central Judicial Complex of Managua, but could not get past the main gate.
Later, she went to a hotel in the capital were, accompanied by other activists and lawyers from the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (Cenidh), she denounced the summons at a press conference.
“It is not a piece of paper that gives one nationality, nor will that will take it away from me, if that were the case. I have always been committed to Nicaragua since the first time I came, when I was 15 years old, when the rubble of the earthquake was still smoldering. Since then I feel committed to Nicaragua, its people and its laws,” said Quirós
At the end of the press conference, Quirós, accompanied by a lawyer from the Cenidh, arrived at immigration; and shortly after entering the government office, a strong police presence was evident.
Ana María Tello and Alexander Álvarez, from the Mecanismo Especial de Seguimiento para Nicaragua (Meseni) – Special Follow-up Mechanism for Nicaragua – of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), presented themselves at immigration to find out what was happening around Quiros and the strong police presence.
But they found no answers.
“We wanted to approach just to see first-hand the strong presence of riot police and the situation of the defenders who were here waiting for a resolution from another human rights defender, such as Ana Quirós,” Tello said upon her arrival at immigration.
Later on Monday, the consul of Costa Rica in Nicaragua, Óscar Camacho, confirmed that Quirós was already on the border of Peñas Blancas.
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