Kenyon College's Leopoldo López Freedom and Democracy award, created to honor a 1993 graduate of the school, has been bestowed on "Nicaraguans exiled or imprisoned by the ruling regime for their efforts to establish greater democracy in that country," the college announced.
That includes seven 2021 presidential candidates who have been imprisoned by Nicaraguan dictator Daniel Ortega – Cristiana Chamorro Barrios, Arturo Cruz Sequeira, Félix Maradiaga, Juan Sebastián Chamorro, Miguel Mora Barberena, Medardo Mairena Sequeira and Noel Vidaurre – and Hugo Torres Jiménez, who recently died while in the custody, Kenyon said in a news release.
The family of Kenyon graduate Leopoldo López established the award “to honor his dedication to the peaceful advancement of freedom and democracy," the college said.
The first award went to Chinese human rights activist Chen Guangcheng in 2021.
This year's award will be accepted May 5 by Nicaraguan journalist Carlos Chamorro, brother of Cristiana Chamorro Barrios and Ortega critic and former lawmaker Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, according to the release.
Carlos Chamorro "is an influential investigative Nicaraguan journalist who was an early supporter of Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) before turning against the corruption and authoritarianism of President Ortega," Kenyon said. "Chamorro has suffered numerous instances of harassment by state authorities and has twice been forced into exile, most recently in June 2021. He now resides in Costa Rica."
