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Roland Alvarez of Nicaragua The bishop of Matagalpa and one of the most influential leaders of the country's Catholic Church is under house arrest in the capital, Managua, after being taken from the northern diocese in a pre-dawn raid. , police said Friday.
Alvarez, a critic of President Daniel Ortega's government, was taken to a church house in Matagalpa with five priests, a seminarian, and a cameraman for a religious television channel where he spent two weeks. was imprisoned.
Police said a cameraman and a cleric had been transferred to a prison in Managua.
Nicaraguan authorities have detained at least three of his priests in recent months, while others have defected.
The raid drew international condemnation from celebrities and religious groups, but a spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was very concerned. Pope Francis has not commented on the crackdown.
Relations between the Catholic Church and the Ortega government have been severely strained following a crackdown on anti-Ortega protests in 2018. At this time, the church acted as an intermediary between the government and protesters.
The church has sought justice for his over 360 people who died in the riot.
Earlier this month, police shut down seven of his radio stations linked to Alvarez and said they were investigating him for possible collusion.
Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes visited Alvarez's parents' home at an unspecified time and said that "his physical condition had deteriorated" but that his spirit was intact.
"With a heart full of pain and resentment, I condemn the nighttime abduction of Monsignor Alvarez," exiled Bishop Silvio Baez of Nicaragua said in a tweet. https://twitter.com/silviojbaez/status/1560601878295040001?s=21&t=ZdLc2Jnd6SAs9lZdiOrUiA.精神。"
The Executive Director of the Organization of American States, Luis Almagro, also condemned the detentions in a statement and called for "immediate freedom for them and for all political prisoners."
Bishop Alvarez's niece, 55, said police raided his parents' home in Managua that morning. (Reported by Ismael Lopez; Authored by Sarah Morland; Edited by Alistair Bell and Josie Kao)
