Nicaragua strips lawyers of certification in latest crackdown on dissent

Nicaragua's administration under Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo has undertaken a sweeping removal of lawyer certifications from the Supreme Court of Justice's official registry, marking what observers describe as an escalation in the government's suppression of institutional independence. The revocations occurred without formal government announcement or explanation to affected professionals, leaving many to discover their credentials had been deleted only upon attempting to verify their status in official databases.

According to Reed Brody, a human rights attorney serving on a United Nations expert panel examining conditions in Nicaragua, the scale of the action likely encompasses at least hundreds and possibly thousands of legal practitioners. Brody noted that this measure follows a consistent pattern of institutional dismantling, with the government previously closing nongovernmental organizations, independent media outlets, universities, and religious institutions over recent years.

Juan Diego Barberena, a lawyer and human rights advocate now residing in exile in Costa Rica, confirmed his own certification was erased from government systems and reported knowledge of at least 25 additional colleagues facing identical circumstances. Barberena characterized the action as a mechanism for establishing totalitarian control over the profession, enabling authorities to determine unilaterally who may practice law.

The licensing revocations represent a continuation of broader governmental actions targeting perceived opponents and institutional safeguards. Since mass protests in 2018, the administration has imprisoned political adversaries, religious figures, and journalists, stripped hundreds of citizenship status, and closed over 5,000 civil society organizations. The targeting of the legal profession removes a final potential institutional barrier between state authority and citizens.