Nicaragua's Ortega extends transnational persecution of critics, UN rights experts say

(Reuters) -Nicaragua's government is expanding its repression of opponents beyond its borders, targeting Nicaraguans abroad in an escalating campaign to silence critics in exile, the U.N. Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua (GHREN) said on Tuesday.

In a 36-page report presented in Geneva to the U.N. Human Rights Council, the group document how the government of Daniel Ortega and his wife, co-President Rosario Murillo, has persecuted thousands of Nicaraguans abroad, many of whom fled their country following brutal repression after anti-government protests in 2018.

The GHREN documented a range of harsh measures used in this transnational persecution, including arbitrary deprivation of nationality, outright bans on re-entry, denial of passports, and confiscation of assets belonging to exiles.

The government also employs digital surveillance, direct threats, and intimidation tactics, often targeting family members remaining in Nicaragua, said the group of experts, which formed in late March 2022.

Ortega's transnational surveillance of opponents is meticulously organized, the GHREN said, as "undercover officials and informants conduct physical and digital surveillance of persons of interest, report on their movements and associations, and in some cases directly harass and threaten them."

The National Police's intelligence services coordinate closely with the military, sharing dissident profiles and intercepting communications, the group added.

The report highlighted digital surveillance as a central pillar of the government's strategy to control dissenting voices in exile, identifying a "sustained pattern of state-sponsored digital espionage against exiles and their families," which include intercepting phone calls, hacking messaging platforms, and installing spyware.

Nicaragua officially withdrew from the U.N. Human Rights Council in late February after the organization accused Ortega and Murillo of transforming the country "into an authoritarian state" and systematically violating human rights.

In April, GHREN publicly identified 54 Nicaraguan officials responsible for "systematic repression."

Nicaragua has been in a severe political crisis since April 2018, when a wave of social protests was met with brutal repression, resulting in an estimated 350 deaths and more than 100,000 citizens forced into exile.

(Reporting by Gabriela Selser; Writing by Diego Ore and Natalia Siniawski; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)