Nicaragua's government recently stripped many lawyers of their licenses to practice law without explanation. Affected lawyers reported that their licenses were removed from the Supreme Court of Justice's registry in recent days.

Reed Brody, an American human rights lawyer and member of a U.N. panel of experts on Nicaragua, said the full scope of the license revocations was not immediately clear, but "would certainly appear to be at least hundreds, if not thousands of lawyers." A United Nations expert described the revocation of lawyers' licenses as a "purge of the legal profession" aimed at eroding the country's final shreds of democratic checks and balances.

There was no official government notification regarding the removals. Juan Diego Barberena, a lawyer and human rights defender exiled in Costa Rica since 2022, was among those whose official legal certification was removed. Barberena said he attempted to access his legal accreditation on the government's database on Thursday, only to find his name and license number were no longer present.

Barberena added that he was aware of at least 25 additional colleagues whose certifications had been revoked. Brody noted he knew of at least 20 affected lawyers. He described the revocation of licenses as a move to reduce any remaining independence in a judicial system that is under the control of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, who serve as copresidents of Nicaragua.

Barberena characterized the action as a means of exercising control over the legal profession. He stated, "This is a means of exercising totalitarian control over the legal profession. This means that the dictatorship can decide who gets to practice and who doesn't." He also said that some of the lawyers erased from the system were Nicaraguans living abroad, practiced criminal or family law not involving politics, or were government sympathizers.

Brody said the move follows a pattern observed for years. "This follows the pattern that we've been seeing for years. First, they closed the NGOs, the universities, the independent media, you know, they've gone after the churches, and now it seems the legal profession. Anyone who might stand between the government and citizens," he said. Barberena also said, "On one hand, it's an arbitrary measure to punish political dissent. On the other, it's the dictatorship looking medium-term and wanting to prevent lawyers, experts, and academics from participating in the future of the country's institutions."

Why It Matters

The recent revocation of lawyers' licenses in Nicaragua follows a series of government actions since 2018. During that year, the Nicaraguan government engaged in violent repression of mass social protests. Since then, the government has imprisoned adversaries, religious leaders, journalists, and others, and forced thousands to leave the country. The government has also stripped hundreds of people of their Nicaraguan citizenship and possessions. Additionally, more than 5,000 organizations have been shut down, including religious groups, local rotary clubs, and scouting organizations. This pattern of actions has eliminated various forms of dissent and independent civil society.