PUBLICAI Index: AMR 43/03/00

UA 380/00Fear for safety15 December 2000

NICARAGUADorothy Virginia Granada, (f) age 70

A 70-year old nun, working as a nurse in a cooperative clinic, has been harassed and intimidated by police and immigration agents.

Dorothy Virginia Granada is a US citizen who has lived in Nicaragua for over ten years. She works as a nurse in the Maria Luisa Ortiz Cooperative, Cooperativa Maria Luisa Ortiz, in Mulukuku, North Atlantic Autonomous Region. Dorothy was named one of the “100 heroines of the world” by the Mayor of New York in 1998.

On 8 December, agents from the immigration service and 15 heavily armed anti-riot police, without a warrant, entered Dorothy Granada's house at 4am to arrest and deport her. Dorothy was not at home at the time and remains unharmed. She is currently in hiding in fear of another display of force by the police and immigration authorities, and that she will be arrested and deported without legal authority. Her health has been seriously affected by these events.

On 14 November the cooperative faced allegations that they had tried to influence their patients towards the Sandinistas, the main opposition party, in recent local elections; that they practised illegal abortions at the clinic; that they treated members of the paramilitary group Frente Unido Andrés Castro (FUAC); and that the clinic was not properly registered to practise.

The President of Nicaragua, Arnoldo Alemán, has attacked Dorothy in the press, claiming she was an illegal resident.

The harassment against Dorothy has escalated over the past month. The cooperative has reportedly been under surveillance 24 hours a day and in recent days have received calls asking for the whereabouts of the main leaders. The clinic itself has been ordered to close.

On 13 December the Nicaraguan Minister of the Interior, Ministro de Gobernación, announced that Dorothy's residency had been revoked on 7 December, and that she had 24 hours to leave the country. However, a judge reviewing the case annulled the minister’s decision which he said was illegal and ruled that she was a legal resident.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

In recent months the Nicaraguan Centre for Human Rights, Centro Nicaragüense de Derechos Humanos (CENIDH), has received a number of reports about various non-governmental organisations being publicly discredited or threatened with closure by the Ministry of the Interior, Ministero de Gobernación (MIGOB).

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send telegrams/telexes/faxes/express/airmail letters in Spanish or your own language:

-expressing serious concern about the harassment of Dorothy Granada, and the unnecessary display of force by police in the attempt to arrest a 70-

year-old nun;

-urging the government of Nicaragua to ensure the safety of Dorothy Granada;

-reminding the authorities that the police force must abide by the Code of Conduct for law enforcement officials which says for example “In the performance of their duty, law enforcement officials shall respect and protect the human dignity and maintain and uphold the human rights of all persons.

APPEALS TO:

President of the Republic of Nicaragua

S.E. Arnoldo Alemán

Presidente de la República de Nicaragua

Casa de la Presidencia

Avenida Bolívar y Dupla Sur.

Managua, Nicaragua

Tel: + 505 2 284 190/281 500

Fax: + 505 2 287 911

E-mail: presidente@presidencia.gob.ni

Salutation: Sr. Presidente/ Dear Mr President

Minister of the Interior

Ingeniero José Bosco Marenco Cardenal

Ministerio de Gobernación

Del Redentor 1c y 1/2 abajo

Apartado 68

Managua, Nicaragua

Tel:+505 2 281 113/ 225 014

Fax:+505 2 227 778

E-mail:dmingob@alfanumeric.com.ni

Salutation:Sr. Ministro/ Dear Minister

Human Rights Procurator

Dr Benjamín Pérez Fonseca

Procurador de los Derechos Humanos

Procuraduría de los Derechos Humanos

Estatua de Montoya,2 cuadras arriba, a mano derecha

Managua, NICARAGUA

Tel:+ 505 2 682 789

Fax:+ 505 2 664 141

Salutation: Sr Procurador/ Mr Pérez

COPIES TO:

Nicaraguan Centre for Human Rights

Centro Nicaragüense de Derechos Humanos (CENIDH)

De la Texaco Montoya 1 ½ c. al Sur

Managua, Nicaragua

Fax/phone: + 505 266 84 05

E-mail:cenidh@nicarao.apc.org

Salutation:Señores

Newspapers

Diario La Tribuna

Rotonda El Güegüence

detrás del Banco Mercantil

Managua, Nicaragua

Fax: + 505 266 9282

E-mail: tribuna@latribuna.com.ni

El Nuevo Diario

Kilómetro 4, Carretera Norte

Apartado 4591

Managua, Nicaragua

Fax: + 505 240 7000

E-mail:ndiario@elnuevodiario.com.ni

and to diplomatic representatives of Nicaragua accredited to your country.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 26 January 2001.