Anonymous Sources: repression instills self-censorship without precedent in Nicaragua
By Divergentes, September 10, 2021
The repressive escalation of Ortega-Murillo against any voice that criticizes their dictatorship has caused the closing of sources of information. It is an “informational blackout”, never before seen in times of peace in the country. Those who dare to speak only do so under the condition of anonymity. It is a devastating blow for freedom of expression and the press, which opens the door to more accusations of “cybercrimes.” Journalists have quit signing their notes or reports out of fear of an arrest order. That is how self-censorship is experienced in Nicaragua.
The journalist dials a phone number. On the other side of the cellphone a woman answers whose tone of voice is fearful. “But do not use my name, everything has to be anonymous,” she says before starting the interview. As minutes go by the conversation flows without problems. The agreement of confidentiality is the only guarantee that this lawyer has to express her points of view without running the risk that the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship would jail her for questioning the state repression in Nicaragua.
“I support many journalists, but as long as they respect my decision to not appear with my name in your publication. I had to flee my house and hide because they were pursuing me,” justified the lawyer who we will call Suyen. “They can throw us into jail,” she insisted.
Since the middle of 2021 the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship has unleashed a new repressive stage carried out on the brink of the electoral process which will be held on November 7th. Those arrested by the National Police are presidential pre-candidates, opposition leaders, human rights defenders, activists, political opinion makers, business people, workers, peasants and students.
The regime has set up an “information blackout” and the self-censorship has never been more palpable than now. Sources of information are speaking under the condition of anonymity because they are afraid that they will be arrested or summoned to the Prosecutor´s office.
“All the behavior is to instill terror and shut down freedom of expression and society in general. What they are doing is to intimidate in order to censor, and so that sources of information might self-censor. This has an impact on independent journalism which has seen how analysts are also lowering the decibels,” said Gonzálo Carrión, member of the Nicaragua Never More Collective, who has been exiled in Costa Rica since 2019.
This new repressive wave of the regime has caused other professionals and experts on electoral issues, who are usually sources for journalists, to make the decision to offer interviews but without being quoted with their names. The threat is so big that even journalists themselves have opted to remain anonymous to protect their physical integrity and avoid being captured and processed by the apparatus of the Ortega dictatorship. From June to now at least twenty journalists have gone into exile.
“I quit signing because they began to summon fellow journalists, and I feared turning myself into a target for the regime. Being a journalist has become a high risk profession. If I have to hide my identity to continue reporting, I will,” says a journalist consulted by DIVERGENTES for this article.
In practice the sources that have remained in the country have opted for silence while the Ortega and Murillo regime remain in power. Journalists evade censorship through the only format which is still free in the country: the internet. After the raid on the daily newspaper La Prensa, Nicaragua has become the only country in the western hemisphere that does not have a printed newspaper.
The signing of a journalistic article translates into jail for men and women of the press. In mid June the sports writer Miguel Mendoza was captured by the Police and currently is accused of “conspiracy.” The evidence that the Prosecutor´s office presented in his case are messages published on his social networks profiles: Twitter and Facebook.
The government has imposed a muzzle on all the traditional media, who have removed from their agendas the more critical segments or programs. On air the only voice that predominates is that of the official discourse led by Rosario Murillo.
This week the Prosecutor´s office premiered the Cyber Crime Law and accused the environmentalist Amaru Ruiz for “propagating false news, through communication technology” who supposedly has offered false information about the events that occurred in the years 2020 and 2021 in the communities of the Northern Caribbean Coast, where indigenous have been murdered, expressing that “the state and its institutions have deliberately ignored the duty of investigating those crimes.”
The case of Ruiz is a sign of the punishment that the regime imposes on experts who expose the negligent work that public institutions are doing by mandate of the dictatorial couple.
“Self-censorship is not reproachable. Society in general is observing the criminalization of journalists, opinion makers, and sources of information. The case of Amaru illustrates this perfectly. All this informational blackout is not characteristic of societies which find themselves in “times of peace.” During the war it occurred, but the fact that it is happening in these moments makes the situation even worse,” states Carrión.
From heroes to “terrorist doctors”
Dr. González is concerned about the rapid increase in cases of COVID-19 in Nicaragua. She is afraid that in the coming months more people might die than those who were counted last year, in the first wave of the pandemic. She does not want her real identity to be revealed, nor whether she belongs to the public or private sector. She simply prefers that a fictitious name be used for her.
In 2020 she was a source frequently consulted by journalists who provided coverage of the pandemic in Nicaragua. She denounced the irresponsibility of the Sandinista Government by constantly promoting crowds. She also questioned the firing of some doctors of the public sector who, like she, reported on the true impact of the deaths by coronavirus in the country.
“My family told me to stop giving interviews, but I did not pay attention to them. It was not the moment to be quiet and leave more people in ignorance. It was important to speak the truth and show them our reality,” says Dr. González.
All this year she continued doing her work, raising awareness and denouncing the negligent policies adopted by the Sandinista regime. The decision to ask journalists to omit her name in articles happened in mid 2021, when the regime unleashed a hunt down of opponents in Nicaragua and threatened doctors who continued in their informational and preventive work.
The summons that the specialists Carlos Quant (Infective Disease Expert) and José Luis Borgen (urologist) received, where they were threatened with the Special Cyber Crime Law, was the warning sign that Dr. González took into account to lower her profile. The summons to doctors came from the Office of Health Regulation and the Legal Advice Office of the Ministry of Health (MINSA).
Quant as well as Borgen stated that they threatened them with applying the Cyber Crime Law if they continued reporting to the population about the pandemic of COVID 19 which, at this time, is hitting Nicaragua hard with a new outbreak. Both doctors are part of the Nicaraguan Medical Unit (UMN) and the Multidisciplinary Scientific Committee of Nicaragua, two independent medical organizations who have taken a leading role during the pandemic in the country, in the face of the denialist and negligent attitude of the Sandinista government.
“I am afraid, I am not going to deny it. Quant and Borgen are reference points in the profession, and we know the work that they have done for many years. The day I made the decision, like other colleagues, to lower my profile but continuing to inform,” expressed Dr. González.
Even though she continues offering interviews and denouncing on social networks (anonymously) about what is happening in Nicaragua, González does not feel that she has the same impact. She thinks that by doing it anonymously her words lose some of their weight. Even though she understands that if she does it in a conventional way, it is probable that they could summon her as has happened with her two colleagues.
“The Government says that we are terrorist doctors, liars, for speaking the truth. I will continue doing my work even though it be anonymously. My commitment is to the citizenry and I am not going to promote irresponsible speech from two people who are not looking out for their people,” insisted the doctor.
From her doctor´s office, Gonzalez continues treating patients with COVID 19 and in addition tries to inform them, sharing articles which are published in the independent communications media. “The profession is united and we are going to continue helping and speaking the truth,” she stated.
A “state of terror” to silence the population
Two months ago Hector decided that his statements and analysis of the political context of Nicaragua should not be attributed to his real name. “It was a request of my friends and family,” says the political scientist who is a valued source for journalists who cover this type of topics.
He made the decision after speaking with his mother. “She told me that she would die if they arrested me. She made me assess the situation when she asked me to not do it for her, but for my family,” said Hector.
Even though the regime had sparked abductions and arrests of opponents since April 2018, Hector thought that the focus of the dictatorship was not going to be aimed at analysts or the presidential pre-candidates themselves. He was sure that the Government was going to continue with the state of police siege to contain protests and would not need to expand its catalogue of political prisoners.
Nevertheless, this thinking was thrown out when the dictatorship launched its manhunt in June of this year.
“When you see that millionaires are summoned and confined in El Chipote, and people who have held high posts in the Government are arrested, and elemental measures are not followed which are recognized in law, you realize that anyone is vulnerable,” states the political scientist.
Hector is aware that the regime imposed a state of terror on analysts and professionals, who generally express their opinion in the communications media or social networks, for the purpose of blocking all those who generate debate on a certain topic.
“It is putting a muzzle on opinion makers, twitters, facebook posters with a wide reach. Also writers, journalists, and youth. It is a message of terror and if the brutality of 2018 and 2019 does not exist, judicial despotism is its principal weapon,” indicated Hector.
The measure that Hector took to not be silenced was his analysis be attributed to a pseudonym or fictitious name. Even if the impact is not the same, at least he contributes to breaking the state of terror of Ortega-Murillo.
“At times I feel that you have to do something, that we cannot lose the freedom to speak because it is an essential element of the citizenry. Losing that, is losing the heart of politics. It has to be maintained and that I why I continue analyzing what is happening in Nicaragua. I know that doing it under a pseudonym is not the same, but it is that or we are limited to losing speech in Nicaragua, and that is irrevocable,” stated the political scientist.
Ortega betting on having control
Rafael has a theory: the regime wants to sow terror in any citizen to prevent a massive protest like what happened in 2018. “And it is betting on subjecting professionals so that we do not express our points of view and in this way that less voices denounce what is happening in the country,” he states.
Rafael is a lawyer. He has years of experience exercising his profession and knowing the repressive system of the Ortega-Murillo regime. He accepted giving this interview if we changed his name and omitted details about his life. He does not want the dictatorship to send a patrol car to silence his voice.
“Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo are not interested in people like us who have certain knowledge and professional and academic experience to present our points of view through the communication media. They want to prevent us from instructing society in general at all costs,” he said.
This lawyer, like other colleagues, decided to continue speaking and denouncing, because he thinks that the fear that they are trying to subject people to from El Carmen should not be maintained. “On the contrary, as long as voices exist that question them, we will have a little hope,” he continues.
The commitment of Rafael is not just to the citizenry, which needs to be aware of what it means, for example, if a reform is approved of a certain law of Nicaragua. It is also to the journalists who now have difficulties in speaking with sources of information who are afraid of expressing their points of view even though it be done anonymously.
“I want society to be aware about what is happening. My decision to continue analyzing the national situation is a way of supporting journalists who are under attack and in crisis. Experts who are afraid or have not decided to speak even though it be under a pseudonym must break the fear and make sure that opinions and analyses continue existing,” said Rafael.