IACHR files case with IA Court over journalist's death and ongoing impunity in Nicaragua

October 1, 2024

Washington, D.C. —On July 4, 2024, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) filed Case 14.746 against Nicaragua with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IA Court). The case concerns the extrajudicial execution of journalist Ángel Eduardo Gahona López by state agents and the ongoing impunity surrounding the crime.

On April 21, 2018, journalist Ángel Gahona López was covering clashes between protesters and police during a demonstration at Bluefields when he was fatally shot. Although he received assistance from civilians, witnesses reported that the National Police Force failed to provide any aid. Gahona died in hospital a short time later. Two young men, Brandon Lovo and Glen Slate, were convicted of his murder but were released in 2019 under an amnesty law.

In Merits Report No. 37/23, the IACHR found that the evidence pointed to a state agent as being responsible for the shot that killed Gahona. It also determined that his murder was linked to his work as a journalist, as he was reporting live on antigovernment protests at the time of his death. The IACHR also noted that Gahona had previously received threats relating to his coverage of matters of significant public interest.

The IACHR concluded that the Nicaraguan State had failed to provide evidence that it had complied with the legal standards of legitimate aim, absolute necessity, and proportionality in the use of force by police officers. It also emphasized that reporting during a demonstration does not warrant the use of force and that audiovisual material from the day demonstrates that Gahona posed no threat.

Additionally, the IACHR found that the Nicaraguan State violated the rights to judicial guarantees and judicial protection through the enactment of Law 966, known as the Amnesty Law. This law was designed to prevent the investigation, prosecution, trial, and sentencing of human rights violations that occurred during the protests.

Based on these findings, the IACHR concluded that the State of Nicaragua is responsible for violating the rights to life, judicial guarantees, freedom of expression, and judicial protection enshrined in articles 4.1, 8.1, 13, and 25.1 of the American Convention on Human Rights, in conjunction with articles 1.2 and 2, to the detriment of Ángel Gahona. It also found that the State violated article 5.1 in relation to article 1.1 to the detriment of Gahona's family.

The CIDH recommends that the State of Nicaragua undertake the following measures of reparation:

1. Provide material and moral redress for the human rights violations described above, including financial compensation and other measures of satisfaction.
2. Conduct a thorough investigation to clarify the facts. The IACHR reminds the State that it cannot invoke legal principles such as ne bis in idem, res judicata, the statute of limitations, or amnesty to justify noncompliance with its recommendations because a gross human rights violation is at stake.
3. Implement mechanisms of nonrepetition that include adopting or modifying regulations or protocols on the use of force, investigate the context of violence during the protests, and create a comprehensive reparations plan for the violations that occurred during the social protests that began on April 18, 2018.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) is an autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS) whose mandate is based on the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. Its mission is to promote and defend human rights throughout the Americas and to serve as an advisory body to the OAS in this area. The IACHR consists of seven independent members elected by the OAS General Assembly who serve in a personal capacity and do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 234/24

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