Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation

👉🏿Nicaragua: UN Group of Experts appalled by Brooklyn Rivera’s death, demands accountability

Nicaragua: UN Group of Experts appalled by Brooklyn Rivera’s death, demands accountability GENEVA/PANAMA – The UN Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua condemned, in the strongest terms, the death of prominent indigenous Miskito leader Brooklyn Rivera while in State custody, and expressed deep concern over reports that authorities took control of his remains, limited family partici...

STATEMENT BY BIANCA JAGGER
Founder and President
Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation (BJHRF)
The Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation condemns in the strongest possible terms the death of Brooklyn Rivera, the distinguished Indigenous Miskito leader, former member of Nicaragua's National Assembly, and defender of the rights of Indigenous peoples.
I hold the Ortega-Murillo regime responsible for his death.
For more than two years, Brooklyn Rivera was subjected to arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, and prolonged incommunicado detention. During this period, his family, lawyers, and the international community were denied credible information regarding his whereabouts, health, and conditions of detention.
When the authorities finally revealed his whereabouts, the world was confronted with shocking images of a man in a severely weakened physical condition, reportedly suffering from multiple organ failure and dependent on life support. Days later, he died while under state custody. Amnesty International had repeatedly warned that his enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, and denial of access to his family and legal representatives placed his life and physical integrity at extreme risk. Those warnings were ignored.
Brooklyn Rivera's death is not an isolated tragedy. It forms part of a broader pattern of persecution, cruel treatment, and grave human rights violations committed by the Ortega-Murillo regime against political opponents, Indigenous leaders, journalists, human rights defenders, members of the Catholic Church, and all those who dare to dissent.
His death brings back painful memories of the death in custody of Hugo Torres Jiménez, former Sandinista commander and national hero, who died on 12 February 2022 after months of arbitrary detention under conditions that human rights organisations described as inhumane and incommunicado.
We also remember José Modesto Solís, Mauricio Alonso Petri, and Carlos Cárdenas Zepeda, who died in state custody or under circumstances that continue to raise serious questions regarding the treatment of political prisoners in Nicaragua.
The repeated deaths of detainees and political prisoners under state custody demand an independent international investigation. No government can evade responsibility when individuals deprived of their liberty die after being subjected to enforced disappearance, incommunicado detention, denial of medical care, or cruel and degrading treatment.
The United Nations Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua has concluded that the Nicaraguan authorities have committed systematic and widespread human rights violations that may amount to crimes against humanity. The death of Brooklyn Rivera further reinforces the urgent need for international accountability.
Today, we mourn the loss of a courageous defender of Indigenous rights and human dignity. We stand in solidarity with his family, the Miskito people, and all those in Nicaragua who continue to struggle peacefully for democracy, justice, and freedom.
His voice has been silenced, but his legacy will endure.
Bianca Jagger
Founder and President
Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation (BJHRF)
31 May 2026
DECLARACIÓN DE BIANCA JAGGER
Fundadora y Presidenta
Fundación Bianca Jagger para los Derechos Humanos (BJHRF)
La Fundación Bianca Jagger para los Derechos Humanos condena en los términos más enérgicos la muerte de Brooklyn Rivera, distinguido líder indígena miskito, ex diputado de la Asamblea Nacional de Nicaragua y defensor incansable de los derechos de los pueblos indígenas.
Responsabilizo al régimen de Ortega y Murillo por su muerte.
Durante más de dos años, Brooklyn Rivera fue sometido a detención arbitraria, desaparición forzada e incomunicación prolongada. Durante ese tiempo, su familia, sus abogados y la comunidad internacional fueron privados de información creíble sobre su paradero, su estado de salud y sus condiciones de detención.
Cuando finalmente las autoridades revelaron su paradero, el mundo se encontró con imágenes estremecedoras de un hombre en un estado físico gravemente deteriorado, aquejado por fallos multiorgánicos y conectado a soporte vital. Días después falleció bajo custodia del Estado. Amnistía Internacional había advertido reiteradamente que su desaparición forzada, su detención arbitraria y la negación de acceso a su familia y defensa legal ponían en grave peligro su vida e integridad física. Estas advertencias fueron ignoradas.
La muerte de Brooklyn Rivera no es una tragedia aislada. Forma parte de un patrón más amplio de persecución, trato cruel y graves violaciones de derechos humanos cometidas por el régimen de Ortega y Murillo contra opositores políticos, líderes indígenas, periodistas, defensores de derechos humanos, miembros de la Iglesia católica y toda persona que se atreva a disentir.
Su muerte evoca dolorosamente la de Hugo Torres Jiménez, ex comandante sandinista y héroe nacional, quien falleció el 12 de febrero de 2022 tras meses de detención arbitraria en condiciones que organizaciones de derechos humanos calificaron de inhumanas y de incomunicación.
También recordamos a José Modesto Solís, Mauricio Alonso Petri y Carlos Cárdenas Zepeda, quienes murieron bajo custodia del Estado o en circunstancias que siguen planteando serios interrogantes sobre el trato dispensado a los presos políticos en Nicaragua.
Las reiteradas muertes de detenidos y presos políticos bajo custodia estatal exigen una investigación internacional independiente. Ningún gobierno puede eludir su responsabilidad cuando personas privadas de libertad mueren después de haber sido sometidas a desaparición forzada, incomunicación, negación de atención médica o tratos crueles, inhumanos o degradantes.
El Grupo de Expertos en Derechos Humanos de las Naciones Unidas sobre Nicaragua ha concluido que las autoridades nicaragüenses han cometido violaciones sistemáticas y generalizadas de los derechos humanos que podrían constituir crímenes de lesa humanidad. La muerte de Brooklyn Rivera refuerza aún más la urgente necesidad de rendición de cuentas internacional.
Hoy lamentamos la pérdida de un valiente defensor de los derechos de los pueblos indígenas y de la dignidad humana. Expresamos nuestra solidaridad con su familia, con el pueblo miskito y con todos aquellos que continúan luchando pacíficamente por la democracia, la justicia y la libertad en Nicaragua.
Su voz ha sido silenciada, pero su legado perdurará.
Bianca Jagger
Fundadora y Presidenta
Fundación Bianca Jagger para los Derechos Humanos (BJHRF)
31 de mayo de 2026

👉🏿Belgium becomes the fourth European country, joining Spain, Ireland, and Slovenian, to request suspension of the partnership agreement with Israel.

🚨 Europe Is Turning on Israel Deal

🚨 let me tell you why this is happening now..
this didn’t come out of nowhere..

countries like Belgium, Spain, Ireland, and Slovenia are reacting to one thing:
continued military actions + ceasefire issues + civilian impact..

for years, europe mostly responded with: statements, concern, “we are monitoring the situation”

but now some governments are under pressure at home: public opinion, protests, political pressure..

so they’re moving from words → possible consequences..

what is this agreement?

the EU–Israel Association Agreement is basically: trade access, economic cooperation, political partnership
it gives israel benefits in european markets..

so suspending it means: no longer receiving normal partner treatment..

what happens if the EU actually suspends it?

if it fully passes:
trade could become more costly or restricted
political relations would drop
israel could face greater economic isolation in europe

it sends a global message: “there may be consequences, not just criticism”

that’s a shift..

but here’s what many people miss

is it possible? yes.. but very difficult

because the EU works on consensus / majority politics, and not all countries agree..
some still support israel or prefer diplomacy over punitive steps

so what you’re seeing now is not a final decision, but growing pressure within europe..

why this matters more than it seems

this is how major EU policy changes often begin:
first → one country speaks
then → others join
then → it becomes a broader debate
only later → possible action

you’re currently at stage 2.. and that’s why it matters..

because europe may be shifting from “we are concerned” to “maybe we should act”

Will the Humanities Survive Artificial Intelligence?
Maybe not as we’ve known them. But, in the ruins of the old curriculum, something vital is stirring.
By D. Graham Burnett
April 26, 2025

Will the Humanities Survive Artificial Intelligence? The New Yorker

👉🏿Will the humanities survive artificial intelligence?

Will the Humanities Survive Artificial Intelligence? The New Yorker

👉🏿At the Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation we condemn Israel’s Genocide, ethnic cleaning and perpetrated against the Palestinian people, with total impunity RT Israel carried out a systematic erasure of Gaza’s historical landmarks and cultural heritage https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/6855

Israel carries out systematic erasure of Gaza’s historical landmarks and cultural heritage Israel’s large-scale military assault on Gaza City, marked by repeated and systematic bombardment of historic neighbourhoods

👉🏿I would like to take this opportunity to extend my gratitude to Rep Chris Smith and to Rep Maria Salazar for Imposing sanctions on the Ortega and Murillo regime and for protecting human rights. Rep Smith and Rep Salazar introduced the Restoring Sovereignty and Human Rights in Nicaragua Act of 2026 |

Imposing sanctions and protecting human rightsSmith, Salazar introduce the Restoring Sovereignty and Human Rights in Nicaragua Act of 2026              Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Africa Subcommittee, and Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R-FL), Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, today introduced legislation to impose targeted sanctions against the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship a...

👉🏿 I condemn the dictatorial and despotic regimen of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo's decisions to ban tourist from bringing in Bibles to Nicaragua. Since 2018 the Ortega-Murillo regime have launched a crackdown against the catholic church and other Christian denominations involving arrests, asset seizures, forced closures, and violence against clergy and worshippers, aiming to eradicate faith, echoing historical events like Spain's "Red Terror" or Soviet-era atheistic campaigns. RT Nicaragua: Authorities ban from bringing in Bibles indcatholicnews.com/news/53906 via

Nicaragua: Authorities ban tourists from bringing in Bibles | ICN An international transport company based in Central America has been forced to add Bibles, books, magazines and printed newspapers to the list of items prohibited from entering Nicaragua.The Central American media outlet CentroAmérica360 reports that notices placed at Tica Bus t...

👉🏿The emotional and moving tribute of John Kerry to Peter Yarrow

❤️❤️ In his emotional tribute, John Kerry is inspiring, loving and hilarious as he remembers his friend Peter Yarrow and all they shared – on the campaign trail singing songs of freedom, peace and justice – and on family vacations when they could unwind and just have fun. They worked together to end the war in Vietnam, for John’s congressional, senate and presidential campaigns, and always to make the world a better place. Thank you John – for your words honoring Peter at his memorial celebration, for your love, your brotherhood, for continuing to stand for what is right and to fight with the heart of a true patriot for the heart of your country. Peter loved you. We love you, and we always will. With deep respect and admiration, Peter’s family. ❤️❤️ From the memorial celebration for Peter Yarrow (Peter, Paul and Mary) in NYC 10/9/25