Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Chair of the House Global Human Rights Subcommittee, today issued the following statement on the reported release of Bishop Rolando José Álvarez and 18 Catholic priests who had been detained by the brutal Ortega-Murillo regime in Nicaragua:

            “The lives of these courageous leaders of the Church in Nicaragua are no longer in immediate danger, but they continue to long for the protection and fundamental rights of those who still face human rights abuses and punishment for practicing their faith,” said Smith, who held multiple hearings on the unjust imprisonment of Bishop Alvarez and others urging the US government and the Holy See to step up efforts to secure the release of those arrested in Nicaragua for practicing their faith.

            Smith said the Ortega-Murillo regime is making a grave miscalculation if it believes it can continue its ongoing efforts to crush the Church in Nicaragua.

            “We will not forget the additional victims of the Ortega-Murillo regime,” Smith said. 

            “We have more work to do to secure the release of the remaining prisoners of conscience and to help the people of Nicaragua to secure the basic right to live as free people in their own country,” Smith said. 

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