December 29th, 2005

Below is a letter written by an activist here in Nicaragua, which I think captures the events of December 29th well. It was addressed to a number of different police authorities.

January 12, 2006

First Commissioner Edwin Cordero; Inspector General, Aminta Granera; Chief of Internal Affairs Juan Baez Nicaraguan National Police

I am writing to protest a case of police brutality in Nicaragua. Eye witness accounts have been brought to my attention that on Dec. 29, 2005, seven members of the Special Forces Police (TAPIR) accompanied Hacienda owner Jose Esteban McEwan to the home of peasant land owner, Martin Vicente Padilla in La Grecia, Yasica Sur, Matagalpa. The police hit Mr. Padilla with a rifle butt, beat him brutally until he lost consciousness and continued to beat him even after handcuffing him and tying his feet together. They dragged him to one of the vehicles that also transported the police. The vehicles are owned by Mr. McEwan or la Finca Santa Emilia, owned by State Street Coffee. According to the report of the forensic doctor, Mr. Padilla has a broken rib.

Witnesses also reported that the police brutally beat up two of Mr. Padilla's sons, one a 16 year old and four other neighbors there at the time. The police chased his small children through the coffee plants so they could not go tell neighbors. They also pushed his wife who is traumatized psychologically. Mr. Padilla and his oldest son were imprisoned for two days, then released without charges brought against them. While they were in prison, police were on the farm while Mr. McEwan's workers picked the coffee from the plants on Mr. Padilla's land.

Witnesses affirm that Padilla met the police peacefully with a camera in his hand to document this aggression. They also affirm that guards working for Mr. McEwan have, on other occasions, come to Mr. Padilla´s farm, fired guns, made threats, and destroyed property. Human rights activists in Nicaragua have photos which have probably reached you by now.

There is an ongoing legal dispute over land that began in 2000. Mr. Padilla has had title to the land and worked the land since 1991. This dispute needs to be resolved in the courts and certainly not through police brutality.

This case creates the appearance that the police in Nicaragua are now up for hire by the highest bidder. Since 1979 the Nicaraguan police have been known for their respect for human rights, their professionalism and independence. The role of the police is to maintain order and to protect the citizenry. In this case they have created disorder, and violated human rights by beating Padilla unconscious even while handcuffed.

that you carry out a thorough investigation of the events that took place on December 29, 2005. I am concerned for Mr. Padilla's life and that of his family as well as other peasants, who, like all of us, depend on the police. I hope that the police will return to acting in a professional and nonpartisan manner. Those police who committed brutalities should be brought to justice. When this happens we will know that these were acts of members of the police and not of the police as an organization.