In a disturbing development, three additional priests have been arrested by Nicaraguan authorities in connection with a public prayer held for Bishop Rolando José Álvarez Lagos, who was handed a 26-year prison sentence earlier this year. This brings the total number of detained priests in Managua to five in just the past two days.

The news of these arrests surfaced through social media reports by Martha Patricia Molina, an exiled lawyer, amplifying concerns raised by the United Nations. Molina, who regularly updates her report titled "Nicaragua: A Persecuted Church?", disclosed that the list of priests apprehended in Nicaragua continues to grow.

According to a post made by Molina on her social media profiles, the police in Nicaragua have detained three additional priests within the last 48 hours. Alongside Msgr. Carlos Avilés and Father Héctor Treminio from the Managua diocese, whose arrest was reported on Friday, the security agents took away Fathers Marcos Díaz Prado, Fernando Calero, and Monsignor Pablo Villafranca.

Father Prado served as the vicar of the Santo Tomás Apóstol church in Puerto de Corinto, Father Calero as the pastor of Nuestra Señora de Fátima Rancho Grande, and Monsignor Villafranca as the priest of Nuestro Señor de Veracruz parish in Nindirí, Masaya.

The arrests have sparked international condemnation, including from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). On Friday, the OHCHR's office for Central America and the Caribbean condemned the "forced disappearance" of Bishop Isidoro del Carmen Mora Ortega from Siuna, who was detained on December 20.

The OHCHR expressed alarm at the "new wave of arrests of religious" by authorities in Managua following the questionable imprisonment of Bishop Rolando José Álvarez Lagos, who faced charges of conspiracy, spreading false news, obstruction of justice, and contempt of authorities.

These recent arrests have raised concerns about religious freedom and due process in Nicaragua. The international community will be closely monitoring the situation in the coming days.