The European Union on Tuesday extended sanctions for another year against 21 Nicaraguan officials, including Rosario Murillo, vice president and wife of President Daniel Ortega, as well as three of their children.

The sanctions prohibit the officials from the Central American country from traveling through EU countries and any assets they hold in European banks are frozen, the EU said in a statement.

Three Nicaraguan entities - the national police, the top electoral council and the telecoms institute - are also sanctioned, meaning EU citizens and companies cannot finance them.

The European bloc first slapped sanctions on the Ortega government in 2019, condemning alleged human rights violations committed by authorities in a crackdown against anti-government protesters the year before.

The unrest left more than 300 people dead, according to rights groups.

The EU on Tuesday urged the Ortega government to release political prisoners and re-establish some freedoms such as the right to dissent. Civil society groups say around 70 political prisoners are currently being held in the nation.

In September, the government released more than 100 prisoners and expelled them from the country. Ortega has previously referred to political prisoners as "mercenaries" seeking to overthrow him.

Since 2018, Ortega's government has intensified a crackdown on his domestic political opponents, arresting and jailing critics on charges including conspiracy and treason, and stripping many of their citizenship.

  - Reuters