11/10/2021 (Agence Europe) – The Council of the European Union decided on Monday 11 October to extend for one year, until 15 October 2022, the framework for imposing targeted sanctions currently targeting 14 dignitaries of Daniel Ortega’s regime, including the wife and son of the Nicaraguan President, for repeated violations of the rule of law and human rights (see EUROPE 12774/4). Instead of initiating an inclusive dialogue to find a political solution to the crisis in Nicaragua, the Nicaraguan government has intensified repression, banning opposition parties and civil society organisations and imprisoning political opponents in defiance of all due process, the EU Council said in a statement. He added that, by doing so, the Ortega regime had eliminated any possibility of serious electoral competition in the elections of 7 November 2021. More info: https://bit.ly/3Dw7xxH (MB)