Nicaragua sentences 4 Catholic priests to a decade behind bars 

A judge in Nicaragua on Monday sentenced four Catholic priests to ten years in prison, as the regime of Daniel Ortega continues to crack down on the Catholic Church.

The priests, who belong to Nicaragua’s Matagalpa diocese, were charged with “treason” and “spreading false news,” reported Reuters. 

Two Catholic seminarians studying to become priests in the same diocese were also sentenced to a decade in prison for the same charges. In addition, a cameraman for a Catholic television channel was also sentenced to ten years. 

Human rights organizations and activists have accused the Ortega regime of targeting and cracking down on the Catholic church since the protests of 2018. Ortega has accused the leaders of the church of attempting to overthrow him.

Ortega has systematically expelled several nuns and missionaries from the country and has closed down countless Catholic radio and television stations, as well as charities and other civil groups. 

Last August, the regime arrested Bishop Rolando Alvarez, who led the Matagalpa diocese, after a two-week standoff with local police. Also in August, the regime banned the Catholic procession of Our Lady of Fatima, citing “internal security reasons.”

"We condemn these perverse actions of the regime, which violate human rights," the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights wrote in a post on Twitter, calling for the priest’s immediate release.