political prisoner Dr. Yerri Estrada a dual national

Photograph of Yerri Estrada released by the dictatorship as proof of life. Photo: Ministry of the Interior

Two children and a granddaughter of Rosa Ruiz, mother of the detained doctor, abandoned their home due to constant threats from police and Ortega supporters.

By Confidencial

HAVANA TIMES – Rosa Ruiz, mother of the Costa Rican-Nicaraguan doctor, Yerri Estrada, imprisoned by the Sandinista dictatorship since August 13, 2025, has demanded that the Government of Costa Rica “speak out” to call for the young man’s release.

“I ask you to speak out and to do everything in your power to learn about his current condition (…) because even though my son did not live most of his life there (in Costa Rica), he lived in that country until he was six years old, and he is Costa Rican by birth,” she said.

At a press conference with human rights organizations, she explained that to date she has not received any information from the Costa Rican Foreign Ministry and does not know if they have requested to see him.

“I call once again on the Costa Rican State to speak out, because as his mother, I have not seen a public statement from Costa Rica,” she insisted.

Children and Grandchild Forced into Displacement

Ruiz denounced that her other two children, Maura Estrada and a 14-year-old teenager, along with a five-year-old granddaughter, now live in “forced displacement,” because they had to leave their home after being harassed and threatened by police and civilians.

“They even threatened my 14-year-old son with an arrest warrant, which is an outrageous crime because my son didn’t even go outside,” she said.

Since Ruiz lives in exile and her eldest daughter is in hiding, she warned that her son Yerri is once again in “forced disappearance.” After authorities allowed his girlfriend to visit him on Wednesday, September 3, 2025, and nine days later released photos and videos of him, “we have heard nothing more about him.”

“I Will Continue Denouncing and They Will Not Silence Me”

The mother of the political prisoner explained that after Yerri’s girlfriend visited him, she lost all contact with the young woman “because they forced her to block me and not contact me.” She also said that at first they were going to allow Yerri’s sister to see him but canceled the visit the day before.

“My daughter was summoned to the Ministry of the Interior in Managua, along with his girlfriend. They showed them photos of Yerri in a cell with five other political prisoners sleeping on bunk beds (…) but they made it clear to my daughter that things had to change, that I had to stop denouncing, so that she could see her brother,” she said.

The dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, through propaganda outlets, released videos and photographs of the young doctor in which he claimed he was being well treated. The visit took place in the same room previously used to stage photos and videos of the now-exiled bishop of Matagalpa, Monsignor Rolando Álvarez, when he was imprisoned.

However, his mother is convinced that everything was done under coercion to protect his physical safety. “No prisoner receives family visits in such comfortable conditions,” she insisted.

Ruiz said that after observing her son’s face and gestures, she continued to denounce the torture he has endured in prison. She is certain he responded “cautiously” to regime journalists “because he is defenseless.”

The mother of the young doctor declared that she will continue to raise her voice: “They will not silence me,” she said.

Continued Denunciations of Forced Disappearances

According to Gonzalo Carrion, a defender with the Nunca Mas Nicaraguan Human Rights Collective the dictatorship is carrying out “revenge” against the young doctor’s family for the public denunciations that triggered international reactions.

“They paraded him (during the visit) with that maneuver that makes it look as though he were practically staying in a first-class hotel, all because of his mother’s persistence in demanding proof of life of her disappeared son,” he explained.

Claudia Pineda, of the Legal Defense Unit Registro y Memoria por Nicaragua, stated that they have reported to different organizations the forced disappearance of Estrada and another 32 political prisoners.

The advocate warned that since the young doctor is unable to receive family visits, he could once again be in a condition of forced disappearance.

She also detailed multiple violations of his human rights and due process, since the judicial system “has not made available the case file” of Yerri Estrada, “he is being prosecuted for acts from 2018 that were already dismissed or pardoned,” and he has been denied the right to a defense.

“He has had no access to an independent lawyer or a fair trial. Minimum guarantees recognized by the American Convention on Human Rights have been violated,” Pineda stressed.

She also noted that precautionary measures have been requested before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and that they have called for action from the United Nations, through its rapporteurs on enforced disappearances, torture, and arbitrary detentions.

First published in Spanish by Confidencial and translated and posted in English by Havana Times.

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