human rights defender
Organization affiliation
- Unidad Nacional Azul y Blanco (UNAB)
- Unión Democrática Renovadora (UNAMOS)
HRD's year of birth
1977
HRD's Gender
Woman
Type of HRD
- Social and community leader
HRD's thematic area of engagement
- Civil and political rights
- Women's rights
HRD's geographical origin
Urban
Current Status
Released
HRD's bio and work
(AI translated) Ana Margarita Vijil Gurdián is a lawyer, political leader and human rights activist from Nicaragua. She began her work as a human rights defender at the Central American University (UCA), then in The Hague in the territorial dispute between Nicaragua and Colombia.
She joined Herty Lewites' 2006 presidential campaign under the banner of the Sandinista Renovation Movement (MRS). From 2008 to 2010, Vijil was a Fulbright scholar, obtaining a master's degree in political science in Arizona, United States. From 2012 to 2017, she was president of the Sandinista Renovation Movement party, currently known as the Democratic Renovation Union (UNAMOS).
Since before the protests of April 2018, she had been actively involved in the defence of human rights, and in the wake of the protests in April 2018, she became actively involved in denouncing serious human rights violations, supporting the registration and monitoring of political prisoners and murdered young people and their families.
In October 2018, she was arrested during a protest and released. In June 2021, she was arrested at her home, where she remained in solitary confinement until 9 February 2023, when she was released, exiled and stripped of her nationality and property, remaining in exile ever since.
Ana Margarita continues her work as a human rights defender from exile and is working to seek justice for the victims of repression in Nicaragua.
Detained since
Jun 13, 2021
Date of release
Feb 9, 2023
Charge(s)
- Subversion
Sentence
(AI translated) 10 years in prison
Latitude: 12.096942985994628
Longitude: -86.2812758311463
Geolocation of detention
Country or area of detention
Region of detention
- Americas: Latin America and the Caribbean
Location of detention - City/Town
Managua
Location of detention - Facility
Dirección de Auxilio Judicial «Evaristo Vásquez» conocido como el Nuevo Chipote
Allegations / reports of ill-treatment
(AI translated) Weakened by a severe stomach infection, she is very pale and has lost weight. She has fungal infections on her skin, and none of these conditions were properly treated by doctors. She also went without her prescription glasses for a long time, as they were broken during her arrest and she was not given a new pair.
Recent case update / evolution
(AI translated) Exiled and stripped of her nationality and possessions.
On 7 February 1923, a court order was sent to the defence declaring her a traitor to the country and stripping her of her civil rights. On 9 February, she was released from prison and exiled to the United States, in addition to being stripped of her nationality and possessions.
Any other relevant documents
(AI translated) Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), Precautionary Measures Nos. 593-21, 665-21, and 680-21 https://www.oas.org/es/cidh/decisiones/mc/2021/res_71-21_mc_593-21,%20665-21%20y%20680-21_ni_es.pdf
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Detailed Conclusions of the Group of Experts on Human Rights on Nicaragua, A/HRC/52/CRP.5 https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/sessions-regular/session52/A-HRC-52-CRP-5-ES. docx
Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Opinion No. 10/202, A/HRC/WGAD/2022/10 https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/2022-06/A-HRC-WGAD-2022-10-Nicaragua-AEV.pdf
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