Yader Antonio Polanco Cisneros
Detained Since: September 25, 2018.
Charges: Murder of Juan Antonio Tinoco Gómez, Director of blockade, illegal transport of wood, and cattle stealing.
Sentence: 22 years and 6 months in prison.
Biography: Yader Antonio Polanco Cisneros is an entrepreneur and small business owner who during the protests against the Ortega Murillo regime gave supplies to the young people blocking the narrow pass of San José de los Remates in the Department of Boaca. For more than a month, he was able to help many citizens cross from one municipality to the other, which is why officials accused him of being the director of the blockade and its logistics. He was detained on September 25, 2018. When he arrived at the police station, he was already being connected with the murder of Juan Antonio Tinoco Gómez, a citizen that was killed on August 10, 2018. In his first trial, with a lack of evidence the judge emitted on November 9, 2018 a verdict of "No Culpability" and directed his release. Three days later, the same judged changed her verdict alleging bias in the process and reopened the case. A new trial was opened which included new charges including murder, the director of blockade, and other common charges which were also false, such as illegal transport of wood and cattle stealing. Without any evidence, Polanco was found guilty and sentenced to 22 years and 6 months in prison. Polanco's lawyer affirmed that trial was plagued with irregularities.
Yader Polanco's health has greatly deteriorated since he has been in prison due to negligence from authorities. Before he was detained, he had suffered from problems with uric acid and his joints. He did not have blood pressure issues before he was detained, but he has had blood pressure attacks, which have caused him to faint in many different occasions. The attacks have forced him to go to a small hospital that functions from inside the prison "Waswalí." This occurred in 2021 when his family was advised of his situation four days after being hospitalized. On another occasion, after observing a prison guard named Ervin Carbajal abusing an elderly prisoner, Polanco pleaded with him to be more considerate and the prison guard threw hot coffee on his body, provoking burns on his chest. Polanco's family denounced this mistreatment in the Permanent Commission of Human Rights in Nicaragua (CPDH).
Advocate: Rep. James P. McGovern (D-MA)
Yader Antonio Polanco Cisneros has been RELEASED.
Updates:
- Rep. McGovern highlighted Yader's case in his opening remarks for a TLHRC hearing on Nicaragua (December 15, 2022).
- On February 9, 2023, the government of Nicaragua released 222 political prisoners to the United States, including Yader Antonio Polanco Cisneros. Karla Vanessa Escobar Maldonado and Luis Carlos Valle Tinoco were also among those released (February 9, 2023, The New York Times).
- On March 22, 2023, Rep. James P. McGovern (D-MA) delivered a speech on the House floor recognizing the release of Yader Antonio Polanco Cisneros, Luis Carlos Valle Tinoco, and Karla Vanessa Escobar Maldonado, as well as the challenges they will face after being stripped of their nationality and deported to the United States (March 22, 2023, Congressman James P. McGovern (@RepMcGovern)).