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‘Only UK journo’ going to cover Nicaragua election on ground says he was detained

A reporter from a left British newspaper says he was detained without explanation in Mexico as he was traveling to Nicaragua to cover the Sunday election. The US threatened the country with new sanctions ahead of the poll.

Steve Sweeney, international editor for the UK socialist daily Morning Star, said he had been placed in police custody as he was making a transfer flight through Mexico City. If his detention continues, he will not be able to reach Nicaragua in time to cover the general election, which the country is holding on Sunday.

The ballot is a complicated one, with critics of President Daniel Ortega and his Sandinista government branding it a farce. Days before the election, the US ramped up pressure against Nicaraguan officials, as the House passed the so-called RENACER Act, calling it a response to violations of human rights in Nicaragua.

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Ortega defenders, including Sweeney, say the US is simply continuing its decades-old bipartisan campaign to overthrow Ortega. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) famously ruled in Nicaragua’s favor after it accused the US of violating international law by supporting the Contras armed groups in the 1980s.

The journalist said he suspected that his detention was part of a Western attempt to dictate the narrative on the election, which Ortega is projected to win in a landslide.

“I am the only journalist from a British newspaper covering the Nicaraguan elections from the ground,” he asserted. “Blocking me from doing so would leave the British press free to regurgitate their standard anti-Nicaragua fare unchallenged.”

The US said it will not recognize the outcome of the election, accusing the Ortega government of cracking down on opposition forces. This may indicate that a coup was in the making in Nicaragua similar to the one that ousted Bolivian President Evo Morales in 2019, Sweeney suggested.

“Solidarity with all those on the ground is now vital. We must not fall for the structural misinformation being fed through the mainstream press,” he said, calling on the Mexican government to release him.

He said the US banned him from entering two weeks before the Nicaragua trip.

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Sweeney is no stranger to being arrested and even kicked out from foreign nations. In 2019, Turkey prevented him from entering when he aimed to cover local elections, reportedly citing national security concerns. Sweeney and the newspaper he works for are vocal critics of the Turkish government.

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source: RT




Împotriva articolelor redacției noastre, persoanele nemulțumite pot formula Contestație în termen de 10 zile de la publicarea articolului, la judecătoria Orășenească nr. 1 München Bayern Deutschland, in conformitate cu Legea federală Germană. Considerăm că nu se pot formula acțiuni la instanțele din România deoarece nici o persoană care activează în trustul nostru nu poate fi extrasă de sub jurisdicția federală germană. Considerăm că redacția noastră nu răspunde în fața autorităților din România ci doar celor federale sau civile germane. deoarece legea română nu are efecte de extraneitate asupra redacției chiar dacă subiectul știrilor face obiectul unor evenimente sau persoane din România și sunt scrise în limba română. Limba română nu este izvor de extraneitate a legii.

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Marius Leontiuc
absolvent WEB DESIGN Academia Britanică de Comunicare Iasi - absolvent COMUNICARE IN AFACERI Academia Britanica de Afaceri si Comunicare -absolvent JURNALISM EDITORIAL - London School University - 2019 inscris la echivalare diploma la Universitatea Politehnica Timisoara - absolvent studii de Drept Universitatea Europeană Drăgan, cursuri in Drept la Universitatea de Vest Timisoara, absolvent studii de proiectare, pastor coordonator in Biserica Protestanta Evanghelica, Android Developer pe Google Play și plugin developer la Oxwall, creator de teme Wordpress și Oxwall, operator Wordpress, Drupal, Oxwall, Osclass, Moodle, tehnologii HTML și PHP
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