The Catholic Archbishop of Armagh asked the Government to push for the release of a bishop falsely imprisoned in Nicaragua.

Monsignor Rolando Álvarez, the Bishop of Matagalpa, has been a prominent voice of protest against the suppression of human rights that has occurred in Nicaragua as the regime of president Daniel Ortega has become increasingly authoritarian in recent years.

The bishop was sentenced to 26 years in prison in February after being convicted of a series of trumped up charges including treason.

Archbishop Eamon Martin wrote to the Tánaiste to express his “grave concern at the situation in Nicaragua, and the persecution of members of the clergy as well as others who express criticism of the regime”.

The archbishop said 222 political prisoners were deported to the US and stripped of their citizenship shortly after their departure.

“However, Monsignor Rolando Álvarez… who had been under house arrest since August 2022, refused to board the plane,” he said. “He was subsequently detained, tried and given a 26-year sentence for offences of conspiracy, spreading false news, obstruction of justice and contempt of court.”