A/HRC/42/18 crisis, were arbitrarily dismissed between 19 August 2018 and 31 July 2019 in reprisal for having assisted people injured in the context of the protests. Similarly, more than 100 students were expelled from the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua after accusations of having allegedly damaged university properties. V. Right to liberty 22. During the reporting period, OHCHR continued to receive reports of arrests and detentions, many of them arbitrary and unlawful. The total number of persons arrested since April 2018 is unclear. The Government indicated that, since April 2018, 923 people (776 men and 147 women) had been arrested, including 446 who were held in custody for public order disturbances and released within 48 hours. 27 Non-governmental sources reported more than 2,200 arrests between August 2018 and July 2019, indicating that the majority of people were released within 48 hours. 23. Since September 2018, OHCHR has been receiving information indicating that the police had arrested people who participated in the 2018 protests by breaking into their homes at night and conducting searches without warrants. The Government informed OHCHR that, in these cases, judges had validated police actions a posteriori. 28 In some cases, the police used excessive force during the arrest. In one instance, an individual was severely beaten on his right leg and spent over 50 days in the hospital before being transferred to a detention centre. Hundreds of people were arrested while attempting to protest peacefully (see sect. III above) although, according to the Government, the National Police have not arrested anyone for having participated in demonstrations. 29 24. In many cases documented by OHCHR, the police did not communicate the reasons for the arrest or the place where the persons deprived of their liberty would be detained. Families and lawyers therefore had to visit police stations, detention centres and courthouses seeking their relatives’ whereabouts but failing to obtain clear, or at times any, information. According to international norms and standards, denying information on the whereabouts of a detainee constitutes an enforced disappearance. 25. Many detainees were brought before a judge after the 48-hour limit established by law. While not denying that this was the case, the Government pointed out that it did not prevent judicial authorities from pursuing proceedings. 30 In some cases documented by OHCHR, detainees were held in custody for weeks or months without being brought before a judge, charged, and/or being granted access to a lawyer. In many cases, police authorities issued detention warrants directly, as allowed by Nicaraguan law. 26. Habeas corpus remedies were often ineffective, especially because the officers entrusted with conducting the relevant proceedings refused or were afraid to perform their duties when the cases involved anti-Government protesters. In several cases, when these officers ordered prison authorities to present the detainees, the orders were ignored. 27. Patterns of arbitrary arrest have changed over time. Since March 2019, most of the individuals arrested to prevent them from staging protests remained in custody in police stations and other detention centres, usually for less than 48 hours, and were released without charges or being brought before a judge. In May 2019, the police started to hold people outside of police stations, including in patrol vehicles, for a few hours. Local human rights organizations indicated that individuals most recently arrested and who participated in the 2018 protests were charged with common crimes. The Government has claimed that such arrests were not linked to the protests and that the detainees were invoking political motives to be exonerated. 27 28 29 30 Communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in response to the OHCHR questionnaire, pp. 22–23. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. 7