Republican representative demands answers from Biden administration on Catholic priest imprisoned for 26 years: ‘Innocent man’
FIRST ON FOX: A Republican congressman is calling on Secretary of State Antony Blinken to take action and explain the steps being taken to free a Catholic priest who the international community says has been unjustly imprisoned in Nicaragua.
“I am gravely concerned about the general state of religious freedom in Nicaragua and write today asking about the well-being of His Excellency Rolando Álvarez Lagos, Bishop of Matagalpa, a prisoner of conscience who remains unjustly detained by the brutal – and criminal – Ortega-Murillo . regime in Nicaragua,” Republican Rep. Chris Smith wrote in a letter to Blinken this week.
Smith demands answers about what the Biden administration is doing to free Alvarez.
A Nicaraguan court sentenced the Roman Catholic bishop earlier this year to more than 26 years in prison for alleged treason after refusing to go into exile to the United States.
REPUBLICAN SENATOR PRESSURES THE STATE DEPARTMENT TO OBTAIN INFORMATION ON THE BISHOP PRISONED BY THE ORTEGA REGIME
President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken (AP Photo)
Álvarez was one of several priests and seminarians arrested last year when the Nicaraguan government clashed with Catholic Church clerics who have criticized the regime.
Álvarez refused to join four other priests and 222 other political prisoners expelled to the United States as part of a prisoner exchange with the US State Department, according to the Catholic News Agency.
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The bishop said he chose to remain in his country in protest against other Catholics who are being persecuted by the Nicaraguan government.
The bishop said that if he got on the plane it would be admitting that he was guilty of a crime he never committed, according to a person close to Álvarez who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisals.
Ortega has alleged that Catholic leaders were involved in a plot to overthrow him, citing their role as mediators with protest groups following the country’s 2018 protests that resulted in some 300 deaths.
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“Bishop Alvarez is an innocent man who endures unspeakable suffering,” Smith said during a Hearing in the house held on Thursday where members heard testimonies from exiled Nicaraguan prisoners of conscience and their families.
“His life and ministry have been an inspiring example of compassion, kindness, integrity and selfless service.”
In March, Pope Francis compared Álvarez’s imprisonment to Hitler’s regime and called Ortega “unstable.”
Representative Chris Smith (FoxNews)
“Given this disturbing trend of oppression, I respectfully request an explanation of what actions the Biden administration is taking to advocate on behalf of Bishop Alvarez and to compel the Ortega-Murillo regime to immediately release him from prison,” Smith wrote before providing 15 questions that the Biden administration must respond by December 21.
The questions included: “Does the State Department have information regarding the current location and well-being of Bishop Alvarez? … If so, where is Bishop Alvarez being detained?”
Other questions raised in the letter:
• “Has the State Department presented a formal investigation to the Nicaraguan government regarding the status of Bishop Álvarez?”
• “Has the State Department received any formal request for assistance from the Vatican in requesting the release of Bishop Alvarez?”
• “What is the Department doing to advocate for the release of Bishop Alvarez?”
Smith also requested information related to economic ties with Nicaragua given the human rights abuses of the Ortega regime.
Rolando Alvarez Lagos (STR via Getty Images)
“The United States needs to act quickly and use all the tools at our disposal,” Smith said at the hearing. “The international community can no longer turn a blind eye to what is happening to the people of Nicaragua, including and especially to people of faith.”
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A State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the letter was received, but that the department does not comment on congressional correspondence.
The spokesperson added that the department calls for the “immediate” and “unconditional” release of Álvarez and all others “unjustly detained.”
Jon Brown of Fox News Digital and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
