Police forced their way into the bishop’s residence, where he had been under house arrest for two weeks, during the early hours of Aug. 19. Álvarez is an outspoken critic of the regime of President Daniel Ortega.
As of Aug. 19, Álvarez was being held under house arrest in a residence of his relatives. Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes, archbishop of Managua, was able to visit the arrested bishop Friday.
Álvarez is the bishop of the Diocese of Matagalpa in north-central Nicaragua. Along with eight others — priests, seminarians, and laymen — the bishop had been forcibly confined to the chancery since Aug. 4, and prohibited from receiving food or medicine.
The priests and seminarians were also removed from the chancery Friday, and according to police, are being held “in the Directorate of Judicial Assistance,” in a prison known as “El Chipote,” infamous for torture carried out on opponents of the Ortega dictatorship.
Since 2018, under the Ortega dictatorship, there have been…
Read the full article:
Open the full article on the www.catholicnewsagency.com site
