human rights defender
Nancy Elizabeth Henríquez James
Actions and Campaigns
Urgent support needed
(AI Translated) Demand guarantees for his personal integrity, specialized medical care, and his full release so that he can return to his native community.
Organization affiliation
- Yatama
HRD's year of birth
1961
HRD's Gender
Woman
Type of HRD
- Social and community leader
HRD's thematic area of engagement
- Environmental rights
- Indigenous peoples’ rights
- Land rights
HRD's geographical origin
Semi urban
HRD's bio and work
(AI Translated) Nancy Elizabeth Henriquez James, born in Puerto Cabezas (Bilwi) on August 6, 1962, is a native of Bilwi. She has four children, is a lawyer and activist for the rights of the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean Coast, serves as a regional deputy, and is president and legal representative of the indigenous political party Yatama. At age 9 she began her vocation for defending the Miskito people, taking up arms at 11 to defend her people's rights. She spent 10 years fighting in the mountains. Upon returning, she completed her secondary education in Bilwi. She then studied a degree in Law and Moravian Theology. Subsequently, she has continued participating in trainings on the rights of indigenous women. In 1991 she founded AMICA, the Association of Miskito Indigenous Women of the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua. In 1992 she began seeking alliances with indigenous women of Central America, traveling by bus throughout the region. Since then she has continued traveling to build networks and defend the rights of indigenous women in international forums. She has participated in the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the World Conference on Women in Beijing, and is a member of the World March of Women. In 2004 she became the first Indigenous Woman to serve as mayor of Puerto Cabezas. In 2022 she was the gender liaison representing the Miskito people in the Mesoamerican Alliance of Forests and Peoples. She currently serves as a Miskito indigenous deputy in the National Assembly as a substitute for regional deputy Brooklyn Rivera, who was detained and whose whereabouts remain unknown.
Current Status
Released on parole
Detained since
Oct 1, 2023
Date of release
Mar 21, 2026
Charge(s)
- Spreading fake news
- Subversion
Sentence
(AI Translated) 8 years imprisonment
Latitude: 12.156695347062476
Longitude: -86.09295485281102
Geolocation of detention
Country or area of detention
Region of detention
- Americas: Latin America and the Caribbean
Location of detention - City/Town
(AI Translated) Tipitapa
Location of detention - Facility
(AI Translated) She remained in the prison system for two years, and on March 21 her incarceration regime was changed to “house arrest,” being housed at a friend’s home in Managua under strict, permanent police surveillance, as she is not allowed to return to her residence in Puerto Cabezas.
Allegations / reports of ill-treatment
(AI Translated) She was kidnapped by the police on Sunday, October 1, 2023, in the city of Managua; under deception she was summoned by the police to appear at an address in the Las Américas sector of Managua, with the promise of a meeting with Deputy Brooklyn Rivera, who had been kidnapped two days earlier. Henríquez James went to the site with her niece and her three‑year‑old grandson, and police officers immediately took her to station three. At about 9:30 p.m. they released her family members and kept her detained. She was then transferred to La Esperanza prison.
Days later both Mrs. Henriquez and Mr. Rivera had their parliamentary immunity stripped, and on October 4 the Supreme Electoral Council (CSE), controlled by the Ortega‑Murillo dictatorship, cancelled the legal personality of Yatama, the party led by the two deputies.
On December 13 she was sentenced to eight years in prison for the alleged crimes of conspiracy to undermine national integrity and dissemination of false news to the detriment of the State of Nicaragua and society, in a trial where she was afforded no judicial guarantees, had no access to a lawyer of her choice, and the proceedings were conducted by videoconference. Her health has further deteriorated due to the deprivation and isolation she endured in the first days of detention; she is hypertensive, suffers from gastritis, has numerous other illnesses, and is an elderly person who is not receiving adequate and timely medical care, in addition to having her right to speak in her own mother tongue violated, as she is prohibited from speaking Miskito during family visits.
Recent case update / evolution
(AI Translated) Her arbitrary detention was recorded on Sunday, October 1, 2023, by undercover National Police agents at the entrance of the “Las Delicias” residential complex located in Las Américas Dos, Managua. During her detention, she was accompanied by her three‑year‑old grandson and her niece, who were also detained by the National Police district and released nine hours later. Defender Henriquez remained missing for more than 15 days while her family did not know her whereabouts, nor did they have information about the reason for her detention. After her arrest, the police appeared at her residence in the city of Bilwi, North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region. Up to October 17 and then on November 1 and 22, 2023, the family reported that they were authorized to visit her at the Integral Women’s Prison System (EPIM) facility known as La Esperanza, in an isolated cell, under inhuman conditions, and without allowing her access to personal hygiene items and cleaning materials. The relatives of Mrs. Nancy Henríquez are under threats; some of them have reportedly received information about arrest warrants against them, forcing them into exile. As of November 2024, she remains deprived of liberty under a house‑arrest‑by‑prison regime with strict police surveillance, unable to travel even for medical care.
On March 21, 2026, Nancy Henríquez was released from prison. According to reports, she is staying at a relative’s home in Managua, under conditions equivalent to house arrest.
Any other relevant documents
(AI Translated) Inter-American Court of Human Rights Resolution of February 1, 2024, Provisional Measures, Brooklyn Rivera Bryan, Nancy Elizabeth Henriquez James and Their Family Members https://corteidh.or.cr/docs/medidas/yatama_se_02.pdf
Appointment as Alternate Deputy of the National Assembly http://legislacion.asamblea.gob.ni/Tablas%20Generales.nsf/InfoDiputado.xsp?documentId=3FC219A1A858753B062580A600597386&action=openDocument&SessionID=15A4B5053E9D8798F4992F2D
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