Tamara Davila on hunger strike demanding to see her daughter

After more than 15 months of confinement in the cells of the infamous El Chipote prison, political prisoner Tamara Davila decided to begin a hunger strike on August 15th, even at the risk of her life, demanding that she be allowed to see her six-year-old daughter, who asks every day why she cannot see and hug her mom.

In a press conference, Davila’s relatives informed of the political prisoner’s decision, pointing out that it is “the only and last recourse that she feels she has at hand to demand the fulfillment of her right and that of her six-year-old daughter to communicate.”

Ana Lucia Alvarez, Davila’s sister, denounced that both they and the political prisoner “have encountered an absolute refusal to any communication with the girl. As a family, we have made several requests to the El Chipote prison officials, as well as the pertinent judicial authorities. We have made oral requests at each visit, we have taken drawings and photos of the child to her mother, and the response has been ‘it is not authorized.’”

Alvarez explained that they have filed seven judicial appeals regarding the visitation with the child, however, they have only received a negative response. In addition, she indicated that the last appeal was introduced on August 16, and that, according to the terms established by these proceedings, the Court of Appeals of Managua should have responded by  August 18.

“We have not yet received a response. We are waiting for an answer from the Court of Appeals and the State, and we hope that this response will be positive,” she said.

Tamara Davila’s life “is at risk”

The relatives of the political prisoner expressed their concern about Davila’s situation, because they point out, “this hunger strike is going to put her life at risk.”

“We are desperate, given that my sister has been illegally and arbitrarily detained for more than 15 months in El Chipote, being a systematic victim of constant torture,” she said.

They also denounced that Davila has spent more than 430 days “in complete isolation, without having gone to the yard once during her detention to get sunlight, in solitary confinement, without access to gynecological health care, without access to adequate and sufficient food, which is why she has lost more than 40 pounds.”

Letters and drawings rejected at El Chipote

The solitary confinement in which the Ortega-Murillo regime keeps Davila in El Chipote has also taken its toll on the emotional condition of the political prisoner’s daughter.

During the press conference, Davila’s relatives released a video in which they show the letters and drawings that the child of the political prisoner has made for her mother.

“Mom, I think of you every day. You are in my heart. When I see little birds and butterflies, I think of you. I learned the letters to write your name. I don’t remember your face much, but I do remember your green and loving eyes. I want you to come back, I want you to come home, I want us to be together. I want them to let you go free. I want to hug you mom,” wrote the little girl in one of the letters that the Ortega regime has not allowed to reach the hands of the political prisoner.

Davila’s family stressed that the child misses her mother; she asks for her every day and questions why she is not allowed to see her.

They also recalled that the Ortega regime’s decision to isolate Davila from her six-year-old daughter, “violates national and international laws and the Code of Children and Adolescents, which should be guaranteed by the State.”

Miguel Mora has spent 50 days on hunger strike

Meanwhile, journalist Miguel Mora, former presidential hopeful of Nicaragua and owner of 100% Noticias Channel, has also began, last July, a hunger strike in El Chipote, demanding to be allowed to see his son Miguelito Mora Chavez, 21 years old, confirmed his relatives after a visit authorized by the Ortega-Murillo regime between July 22 and 24.

Veronica Chavez, Mora’s wife, said in an interview on the Esta Noche online TV program, that her husband took this extreme decision out of desperation for not having been able to see his son in more than a year, and due to the lack of response from the authorities of El Chipote. The authorities have been asked on several occasions to authorize the entry and have refused, despite the fact that Miguelito is an adult in a wheelchair due to his physical disability.

On August 12, the Mora family indicated that they were worried about the health of the political prisoner, since on that day he completed 50 days of being on a hunger strike, according to a report by 100% Noticias Channel.

“We are concerned because after 50 days of hunger strike, we have no information about him. The information we have is at each visit,” Chavez told 100% Noticias.

SOS for Tamara and Miguel

Tamara Davila’s relatives pointed out that “they are worried because increasingly hunger strikes are becoming the only resource that political prisoners see that they have within reach to see their sons and daughters or to demand the end of the torture in which they are kept. This puts their lives at risk, and it is why we are launching an SOS.”

They highlighted that their demand is that “a visit be allowed immediately between Tamara and her daughter and of all the children of political prisoners with their mothers and fathers,” and that “visits be guaranteed every 15 days and weekly telephone calls as established by Nicaraguan law, including children and family members who are outside the country.”

They also urged human rights commissions or the Red Cross to enter the cells of El Chipote to verify the health condition” of all the political prisoners, especially those who decided to remain on hunger strike, demanding respect for their rights and those of their children.

This article was originally published in Spanish in Confidencial and translated by Havana Times