TV producer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and his family have started a petition to free their patriarch who is reportedly kidnapped and arrested for criticizing the government of Nicaragua.

• Aug 7, 2021

AceShowbiz - "Riverdale" boss Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa is pleading for information on his father, who has been missing for 10 days in Nicaragua.

Roberto, who developed the hit TV series based on the classic high school comic book series, has asked the public to help free his dad, Francisco Aguirre-Sacasa, who was a Nicaraguan ambassador to the United States from 1997-2000.

Recently, Francisco has been reporting on the government of the Central American country, which led to him being detained and charged with treason.

"He's been a vocal critic of the current regime under President Daniel Ortega who is governing with his wife as his vice president. Nicaragua has been in a bad, bad, way," Robert tells Deadline

"About 10 days ago... I got an emergency call from my sister Georgiana. She told me our father had been arrested or kidnapped."

Francisco was stopped at the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica and his passport was seized.

"A statement was released saying our father was under investigation for treason and for being an enemy of the state," says his daughter, Georgina.

The family reports their father was detained by the National Police, who also seized documents and computers from his house.

"We believe he is being kept as a political prisoner," Roberto adds.

"The current administration has been arresting anyone who attempted to run against Ortega or who have been speaking out against him and those who are fighting for a free democratic election. They've been disappeared. We believe he's being kept at the infamous prison called El Chipote, where my mom has visited every day bringing food, water, and medicine for our father. She's been denied each time and the food and medication refused (sic)."

"By speaking up, we're trying to do what our father was doing. We want to bring attention to what's happening in Nicaragua. We hope that he will not suffer because we're speaking out," Roberto continues. "If they're going to put him under arrest, we ask that he be allowed to do home arrest where he can take his medications. We just want to be in contact with him. We ask that they free him and the other prisoners... We want him to get home safely."

The Aguirre-Sacasa family has started a petition to free Francisco and are sharing the latest updates on Facebook.