About two dozen people protested on Monday evening outside the Nicaraguan Embassy in Kensington. The group demanded a fair trial for Amaya Coppens, a 24-year-old political activist imprisoned in Nicaragua.
The protestors chanted, handed out pamphlets and held white and blue balloons – the colours of the Nicaraguan flag.
Protest organiser Xilonem Clarke is a childhood friend of Amaya, and is aiming to draw attention to her case: “She is being put on trial for standing up to the government and speaking out against oppression. Today we are here for her and for all other political prisoners.”
Amaya, a Nicaraguan-Belgian medical student, was a local leader and spokesperson for the 19th of April Student Movement protesting against accused dictator Daniel Ortega.
Amaya spoke out against a repressive government in El Salvador, and is still in prison.
Clarke said: “She was a star student, loved by everyone, incredibly generous and she cared deeply about the wellbeing of others.”
On September 10th, she was arrested by a paramilitary group in Leon. According to Clarke, the group did not have an arrest warrant. The police formally announced her detention 48 hours after her disappearance. Amaya is charged with acts of terrorism, kidnapping and illegal possession of firearms, and could face several years in prison.
“We have been told that the witnesses are all policemen, so a fair trial is unlikely,” said Clarke. Amaya was supposed to have her trial yesterday, but the court postponed it to February.
Amaya was held in El Chipote for a week, a prison notorious for its use of torture and sexual violence when interrogating prisoners. She was then moved to Amaya La Esperanza women’s prison in Tipitapa, where she currently resides.
Amaya was arrested by a paramilitary group in Leon on September 10th.
Amaya is currently unable to speak to her lawyers, and has been allowed to see her family only twice for very short visits since her arrest. “This was a couple of weeks ago,” Clarke said. “After months in prison, she is not doing well. We are worried for her physical and mental well-being.”
In April, protests erupted in Nicaragua over a proposal to reform the social security system that would result in a pension decrease. Since then, the country has been rocked by a wave of revolts against President Daniel Ortega, which have led to deadly clashes between protestors and police. Protestors have demanded his removal from the presidency.
Ortega has been in power since 2007. Critics accuse him of dictatorship and restricting Nicaraguans’ freedoms and civil liberties. Since April, hundreds of people have been killed, thousands injured and more than 300 protestors jailed. Anti-government demonstrations were declared illegal by the government on 28th September.
All the images used are from Amaya’s Facebook page with the expression permission of her lawyers and her family.