Gabriela Morales
Gender: Female
Current Location: La Esperanza prison, Tipitapa, Nicaragua
Perpetrator: Nicaragua
Religion or Belief: Christian – Catholic
Date of Detainment: August/19/2023
Date of Release: September/5/2024
Current Status: Released
Religious Leader: No
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment
Reason for Persecution: Online Activity Religious Association
Nature of Charges: Drug Trafficking & Illicit Drug Use Spreading Propaganda & False or Misleading Ideas, Information, or Materials Treason & Sedition
Gabriela Morales
Extra Bio Info:
Gabriela Morales was detained in relation to a crackdown on religious institutions.
On August 19, 2023, police detained Morales, who was a student at the Jesuit Juan Pablo II University. The government cancelled the University's legal status and confiscated its property in March 2023. Morales's detention occurred amidst a crackdown on Catholic institutions in Nicaragua, including the government's arbitrary cancellation of the Jesuit University of Central America's (UCA) legal status and seizure of its property in August 2023. Reports suggest that prior to Morales' arrest, she expressed her support for the UCA.
In October 2023, it was reported that Morales had been charged with spreading false news and undermining national integrity and had been denied access to a lawyer in the first two legal proceedings of her trial. It was subsequently reported that Morales had also been charged with possession of marijuana.
In November 2023, Morales was found guilty of drug trafficking and not guilty of spreading false news and undermining national integrity.
On September 5, 2024, the Nicaraguan government exiled Morales to Guatemala.
Related case: Adela Elizabeth Espinoza Tercero
Sources:
- "Justicia orteguista manda a juicio a jóvenes Adela Espinoza y Gabriela Morales" Nicaragua Investiga (NI)