Bishop Rolando Alvarez, head of the Matagalpa diocese, is making a heroic stand to stay in Nicaragua after the government deported 222 political prisoners to the United States.

 "Let them be free, I will pay their sentence," said the Roman Catholic bishop as he refused the offer of exile and did not get on the plane with the deportees on Thursday.

According to the Catholic News Agency, Judge Hector Ernesto Ochoa Andino, president of Criminal Chamber 1 of the Managua Court of Appeals, sentenced Alvarez to 26 years and four months in prison for being a "traitor to the homeland" on Friday.

It comes after slapping five priests with 10-year prison sentences. They previously worked with Alvarez, who has been an outspoken critic of the government of President Daniel Ortega. Alvarez was arrested along with several other priests last August.

The sentence stated that the bishop was accused of undermining national security and sovereignty, spreading fake news through information technology, obstructing an official in the performance of his duties, and aggravated disobedience or contempt of authority.

The judge ruled that all these actions were "committed concurrently and to the detriment of society and the State of the Republic of Nicaragua." The judge also stripped the bishop of his Nicaraguan citizenship. He was also ordered to pay a fine of about $1,550.

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Expert Says Daniel Ortega Regime Fears the Roman Catholic Church

Nicaragua is a majority Catholic country and has held onto many conservative beliefs, including banning abortion. However, the relationship between the Roman Catholic Church and Daniel Ortega's oppressive regime has grown quite complicated.

The government has shut down many of the Church's radio stations, most of which are critical of the government. It has also banned several charities by the Church and deported missionaries. It even expelled the Papal Nuncio, considered the top Vatican diplomat.

The Nicaraguan government has grown intolerant of dissent, as it revoked the citizenship of a political opposition leader, forced journalists into exile, expelled nuns, and ordered the closure of nongovernmental organizations. 

But with Bishop Rolando Alvarez opting to stay in Nicaragua, Antonio Garrastazu, regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the International Republican Institute in Washington, noted that this decision was more significant than many had thought.

Garrastazu told the Associated Press that Ortega is now stuck with Alvarez even after expelling almost all of his most vocal critics.

"The Catholic Church, I think, is one of the main institutions that the Ortega regime really, really fears... The Catholic Church are really the ones that can actually change the hearts and minds of the people," said Garrastazu.

Nicaragua Government Fabricated Evidence Against Bishop Rolando Alvarez

Bishop Rolando Alvarez has been a thorn in the regime of Daniel Ortega for years, with his Catholic radio stations often broadcasting critical opinions against the Nicaraguan president.

However, judicial sources consulted by El Pais have said that the prosecutor's office in Nicaragua has "fabricated evidence" against the bishop. The evidence against him was based on his critical homilies, which were used to bolster proof that he was trying to destabilize the Nicaraguan government.

In these homilies shared on social media, he mostly aimed at Ortega's human rights abuses and political repression. Alvarez was reportedly offered two options, exile or jail, to which the bishop chose the latter. He said he refused to "leave his homeland."

READ MORE: Pope Francis Worried For Nicaragua After Bishop's Arrest

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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