The United Nations has accused the Nicaraguan government of repressing and retaliating against government critics following wide-scale protests. According to a new report by the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, approximately 300 people have died and 2,000 have been injured since April. The U.N. report accused the government of carrying out extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detentions and torture. Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein is the outgoing U.N. high commissioner for human rights.

Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein: “We’ve issued a report calling for urgent action to address the human rights crisis in Nicaragua, where the level of persecution is such that many of those who participated in the protests that erupted in April, defended protesters’ rights or simply expressed dissenting views, have been forced to hide, have left Nicaragua or are trying to do so.”

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega dismissed the U.N. report, saying it has ignored violence carried out by anti-government forces.

President Daniel Ortega: “The international reports completely ignore the deaths caused by the murderous coup mongers. They want to rip up a peaceful population. The coup mongers have just come to kill public servants, Sandinistas, to destroy hospitals and schools.”