MEXICO CITY — Nicaragua’s government has revoked the licenses of numerous lawyers in recent days, a move a United Nations expert on Friday characterized as a “purge of the legal profession.” This action is reportedly aimed at dismantling the country’s remaining democratic checks and balances.
The government, led by copresidents Daniel Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo, has been engaged in a comprehensive crackdown on dissent since widespread social protests erupted in 2018, which were met with violent repression. Since then, the administration has imprisoned political adversaries, religious leaders, journalists, and others, compelling thousands to seek refuge abroad. Hundreds have also been stripped of their Nicaraguan citizenship and possessions. Furthermore, over 5,000 organizations, predominantly religious groups but also local rotary clubs and scouting organizations, have been shut down since 2018.
Lawyers recently discovered their licenses to practice law in Nicaragua had been removed from the Supreme Court of Justice’s registry without any official explanation. This information comes from Reed Brody, an American human rights lawyer and member of a U.N. panel of experts on the Central American country, as well as other affected attorneys whose certifications were revoked. The Nicaraguan government has not issued an official notification regarding these revocations and did not respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.
Brody indicated that the full extent of the revocations is not yet clear, but it “would certainly appear to be at least hundreds, if not thousands of lawyers.” He noted that this pattern is consistent with previous government actions: “First, they closed the NGOs, the universities, the independent media, you know, they’ve gone after the churches, and now it seems the legal profession. Anyone who might stand between the government and citizens.” Brody confirmed he is aware of at least 20 lawyers who have been affected by this measure.
Among those impacted is Juan Diego Barberena, a lawyer and human rights defender who has been exiled in Costa Rica since 2022. Barberena stated he knows of at least 25 more colleagues in a similar situation. On Thursday, Barberena attempted to access his legal accreditation on the government’s database, only to find his name and license number completely erased from the system.
Barberena described the move as “a means of exercising totalitarian control over the legal profession,” adding, “This means that the dictatorship can decide who gets to practice and who doesn’t.”
This latest action mirrors previous steps taken by the government. Many Nicaraguan exiles, stripped of their citizenship and rendered “stateless,” have reported similar experiences of themselves or family members finding their birth certificates and other legal documents removed from official databases. However, Barberena and Brody highlighted that this week’s actions go further, as those erased from the system include not only dissenters but also Nicaraguans living abroad, lawyers practicing non-political fields like criminal or family law, and even some government sympathizers.
Brody interpreted this broader scope as an effort to eliminate any remaining vestiges of independence within a judicial system already largely controlled by Ortega and Murillo. Barberena offered a dual perspective: “On one hand, it’s an arbitrary measure to punish political dissent. On the other, it’s the dictatorship looking medium-term and wanting to prevent lawyers, experts, and academics from participating in the future of the country’s institutions.”
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