(QCOSTARICA) Nicaraguan prison authorities, bowing to pressure, ten days ago allowed Daniel Gil, a Costa Rican national being held at the El Chipote prison in that country, food, clothing, medicine and contact with a lawyer. But, since then, nothing.
The Costa Rica Embassy in Nicaragua has asked. The family has asked. Foreign Minister Manuel Gonzalez, in person, asked his Nicaraguan counterpart, Harold Rivas. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos – CIDH) has asked.
None has gotten a response. In fact, Nicaraguan officials have completely ignored the CIDH seven-day time limit to provide information on the legal reasons and precise conditions of the detention.
Gil has now spent 40 days in conditions that are being described “deplorable”, in a prison where allegedly torture is a common practice.
The Costa Rican was picked up on an international warrant issued by Mexico, According to Interpol, the Mexicans are linking Gil in their investiagation of a possible commercial fraud. The warrant had been issued while Gil was in Costa Rica, but authorities could not act because he was on home soil. More: Tico Being Held in Nicaragua Prison Is Wanted International Warrant by Mexico
However, Costa Rican authorities alerted their Nicaraguan counterparts when they learned of Gil’s trip out of Costa Rica. He was detained in Managua hours after his arrival in Nicaragua.
Gil is the husband of the former minister of Security, Marcela Chacon, who says she is confident that the CIDH order that could lead to her husband’s release, will be respected by Nicaraguan authorities.