At the end of January 2024, the Sandinista Mayor’s Office of Managua renamed a 2.8 kilometer long runway that runs through the historic center of the Nicaraguan capital, very close to the shore of Lake Xolotlán: it was changed from Dupla Norte to Pista Gaza, as a gesture of “solidarity” from the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo “to the resistance and heroism of the brother people of Palestine.” Next to the road, the Palestine Park was also inaugurated. A month later, on March 1, Nicaragua surprised the International Court of Justice (ICJ) by presenting an accusation against Germany for “facilitating the commission of genocide” in Palestine by providing political and military support to Israel.
The suspicions surrounding the process opened by Managua against Berlin immediately caused suspicion, because Nicaragua “has very few reasons to get involved in a Middle East conflict”: it has maintained a relationship with Germany considered “a close friendship,” since Historically, the Germans have been one of the main cooperators of the Central American country. At the same time, this accusation could result in “a shot in the knee”, since the Ortega and Murillo regime opens the doors to international justice to judge the crimes against humanity committed since the social protests of 2018 by police, paramilitaries and the Sandinista government.
El PAÍS learned about another doubt that arose among European diplomatic circles: “Does Nicaragua really have the resources to pay the lawyers who are pushing this lawsuit against Germany?” Among them, Alain Pellet stands out, a French jurist considered one of the most prominent experts in international matters, law and one of the most active litigators in The Hague. The doubts seem to begin to dissipate as of April 24, after the specialized portal Politicalpublished an article pointing out that Managua’s lawsuit against Berlin for facilitating a genocide “probably occurred at the behest of Russia.”
“A detailed assessment of Western intelligence services presented to Political determined that Russia, which maintains close relations with Nicaragua’s authoritarian leaders, probably pressured its allies in Managua to use the so-called 1948 Genocide Convention to persecute Germany before the ICJ,” the American newspaper reports.
The Nicaraguan allegations are based on a first case presented by South Africa in January 2024, in which judges in The Hague ordered Israel to take “all possible measures” to avoid genocidal acts. The Government of Ortega and Murillo insists that the Germans violate the 1948 Genocide Convention, established after World War II and the Holocaust perpetrated by the Nazis.
Putin’s reasons for using Ortega in The Hague
The Ortega and Murillo regime maintains a close relationship with Moscow, to the point that it is one of the few countries in the world that openly supports Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in international forums. Political maintains that Putin “may have had good reason to intervene in the court and turn to the help of his former allies in Nicaragua.”
“Although most jurists believe that the Nicaragua case is baseless, the accusation of genocide before the highest judicial body of the UN is a humiliation for Berlin. “The crimes against humanity committed by Germany during World War II gave rise to the Genocide Convention, and the country has been trying for decades to convince the world that it respects the highest standards of human rights and international law,” the article contextualizes. Political. “For Putin, who seems to especially enjoy trolling to the Germans, humiliation may have been part of the calculation.”
Political suggests that if Russia is behind the maneuver, it is likely that there was a more compelling motivation to put Germany in the dock of the ICJ, according to the assessment of the intelligence services: “Attempting to undermine the credibility of the court in the Western countries turning it into the scene of misleading legal arguments.”
It turns out that Russia has had a rocky ride in The Hague in recent years, especially since Ukraine took Moscow to court over the invasion in February 2022. The ICJ sided with the Ukrainians and called on the Kremlin to “immediately suspend its operations.” military, awaiting their final decision.”
“Russia ignored the order – the ICJ has no ability to enforce its decisions – but the ruling continues to irritate Moscow because it strips Putin’s regime of any pretense of international legitimacy for its war of aggression,” Politico concludes. based on intelligence sources. “Meanwhile, Moscow will use the Nicaragua case against Germany and the separate genocide proceedings brought by South Africa against Israel to undermine the legitimacy of the court and argue through its propaganda channels that Russia is the victim of a double standard,” the officials said. Western officials cited by the publication.
Managua closes embassy in Berlin
At the beginning of April, the Ortega and Murillo regime closed the Nicaraguan Embassy in Berlin as a result of the case. The decision surprised German officials and completely strained the diplomatic relationship. Félix Maradiaga, a former exiled political prisoner, had already warned before that the newspaper Political that Managua’s accusation against Germany “was a maneuver orchestrated from Moscow.”
“Russia maintains close relations with the Sandinista dictatorship as we saw recently with the visit of Nikolai Patroshev in Managua, and previous visits by Putin,” the former presidential candidate tells Morning Express. “This movement by Ortega and his regime is not only shocking given the historical friendship between Nicaragua and Germany, but it also lacks solid foundations. “This act appears more like a political ploy than a legitimate gesture of international solidarity, raising questions about the true intentions behind this lawsuit.”
Maradiaga interprets “the maneuver” as an attempt by Ortega to align himself even more with Russia, at a time when Vladimir Putin is seeking distractions and international support in the face of the conflict in Ukraine. “By engaging in international litigation challenging a prominent NATO member like Germany, Ortega not only diverts attention from international criticism toward his own authoritarian regime, but also attempts to erode Germany’s image and influence on the scene.” world,” says the denationalized political scientist.
For its part, Managua’s lawsuit may open the doors for another State to file a similar lawsuit against it for the crimes against humanity committed by the Ortega-Murillo couple and their repressive operators, documented by organizations such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Human Rights (IACHR) and a group of United Nations experts, which accuses the Ortega-Murillo family of commanding crimes against humanity.
Experts assess that the regime can be sued in a similar way in instances such as the International Criminal Court (ICC), due to accusations of its participation in crimes such as political and religious persecution, murders, extrajudicial executions and arbitrary deprivation of liberty, among others. others. “A lawsuit can be filed before the ICC for the punishable acts that the Ortega dictatorship is undoubtedly committing,” said former OAS advisor Guillermo Belt. “Someone should take the case, for example, of the statelessness that he has committed in recent years.”
Follow all the information from El PAÍS América inFacebook andxor in ourweekly newsletter.
.
.
_
