Mayangna Indigenous Human Rights Defenders Sentenced to Life Imprisonment for Defending their Territory

The case of the Mayangna Indigenous human rights defenders, Mayangna, Dionisio Robins Zacarias, Donald Andrés Bruno Arcángel, Arguello Celso Lino, and Ignacio Celso Lino, who played crucial roles in their communities as forest rangers and community authorities, represents an example of the regime's policy to control Indigenous territories and persecute their leaders. They were arbitrarily detained and unjustly sentenced to life imprisonment for the attack on the Kiwakumbaih mine. In this interview, a human rights defender from Nicaragua tells us more about the case.

What happened during the attack on the Kiwakumbaih mine?

On 23 August, 2021, around 37 people, primarily Mískitu and Mayangna indigenous people, were working at the artisanal mining point in the Kiwakumbaih mine on Pukna Hill in the Mayangna Sauni As Territory (TMSA). At 3:00 p.m., a group of approximately 30 armed, non-indigenous men who spoke Spanish, wore military clothing, and used walkie-talkie radios, attacked the site with firearms, including weapons of war. Twenty-two people managed to escape upon hearing the shots and made a public statement to the National Police, reporting that 15 people had been killed; however, the police identified only nine victims. During the massacre, several people were killed, including women and minors, showing signs of sexual violence.

How did this conflict affect the Mayangna community?

The attack on Kiwakumbaih resulted in confusion, conflict, and humiliation for the Indigenous people due to the violence they suffered, including the killing and rape of women. Additionally, since the Indigenous people traditionally obtain gold from the mine, they see the attack as retaliation by the settlers, who they had previously expelled for attempting to take over the area. The settlers sell the gold they extract from the mines to companies located in the TMSA. Thus, the attack aimed to displace the Indigenous people from Kiwakumbaih, instilling terror through these killings.

What was the main reason given for the arrest of these indigenous defenders, and why is it considered arbitrary?

The National Police initially accused 14 and then 40 indigenous people from the TMSA of having participated in the Kiwakumbaih massacre. Among them, without an order from a competent authority, they detained the four defenders and indigenous authorities, Dionisio Robins Zacarías, Donald Andrés Bruno Arcángel, Argüello Celso Lino e Ignacio Celso Lino, who were also forcibly disappeared for several months. They were held incommunicado since their arrest, without their families knowing their whereabouts.

Moreover, by violating their right to the presumption of innocence, the National Police showcased them at a national press conference “as the criminals ... perpetrators and masterminds of the crimes and brothers of one of the victims of sexual abuse ...”. Their trial was held behind closed doors, and although they were reportedly arrested for the illegal possession of weapons, the National Police did not present any weapons as evidence. Additionally, the Public Prosecutor's Office only presented police officers as witnesses. In contrast, the defence and its witnesses pointed out that Mr Donald Andrés Bruno Arcángel fled the scene, as did the other survivors of the massacre, and that the other three accused were far from the crime scene at the time it occurred, making their participation impossible. Despite this testimony, the judge found the four defendants guilty and sentenced them to life imprisonment plus an additional four years for the alleged kidnapping of one of the victims and her daughter, resulting in an illegal and unjust sentence.

Why did the National Police accuse the indigenous authorities and forest rangers when the witnesses stated that the attackers were non-indigenous?

The National Police arbitrarily accused the indigenous people and forest rangers despite witnesses stating that the attackers were not indigenous. Some witnesses even claimed they were intimidated by members of the police force, who also spread a rumour that the victim, Mrs Bercinia Celso Lino, had identified the Indigenous HRDs as guilty during the attack. This caused repudiation among community members and animosity towards them.

The National Police and the Nicaraguan Army's Ecological Battalion (BECO), present in the Bosawás Biosphere Reserve for years, have played a crucial role in the increase of violent invasions of indigenous territories by settlers. Despite being in the area for more than 10 years, their failure to fulfil their duty to sanction and report the alleged incidents and those responsible has led to a climate of impunity. This situation has escalated due to their actions against indigenous defenders who fight to protect their ancestral lands.

How does the situation of the detained Indigenous HRDs affect the fight for Indigenous rights and the defence of land in Nicaragua?

In line with the state policy of internal colonisation on the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua, which encourages land grabbing and the regime's economic control over the autonomous regions, indigenous authorities and leaders are being detained, convicted, and subjected to torture and ill-treatment. They are often publicly portrayed as guilty before being tried and then paraded in chains in front of their families to silence them,curbing resistance to the regime's expansion of its political and economic control over the natural resources of indigenous territories. Thissends a clear message to the communities and indigenous resistance, warning that any leader, even the community forest rangers - the first “retaining wall” against the settlers - can be the victim of repression if they defend their lands. Meanwhile, impunity favours the armed settlers who usurp indigenous lands in the Mayangna Sauni As Territory.

What is the current situation of the Indigenous HRDs, and have any acts of torture or mistreatment been reported during their detention?

Indigenous human rights defenders continue to be arbitrarily detained in the Jorge Navarro Penitentiary Centre, also known as “La Modelo”. They are suffering irreparable damage to their physical and mental integrity, which threatens their lives. Since arriving in the prison system in December 2021, they have been isolated in high security cells, incommunicado, in inhuman and degrading conditions, victims of torture, cruel treatment and threats which have degenerated into physical and sexual aggression. They have been denied medical care, despite their extremely precarious health. In addition, the guards and the other inmates - ordinary prisoners - mistreat them when they speak Mayangna language to each other.

What action is being taken to secure the release of the Indigenous HRDs, and what should the international community do, given their current situation?

There is an extraordinary appeal before the Supreme Court of Justice of Nicaragua in favour of the four indigenous defenders that has not yet been resolved. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), through Resolution 20/23 issued on April 13, 2023, granted Precautionary Measures in favour of these four indigenous authorities and leaders. However, the State did not take any measures to protect their lives. On June 27, 2023, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) ordered the State of Nicaragua to release them by July 10, 2023, but the regime ignored this order. Additionally, on August 30, 2024, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued Opinion No. 30/2024 declaring, among other things, that the State of Nicaragua should release and grant compensation to the four community authorities and forest rangers of the TMSA. The international community must continue to demand the release of these four TMSA community authorities and forest rangers.