The mother of a medical student facing more than 20 years in prison for protesting against the Nicaraguan government is appealing to the international community to put pressure on president Daniel Ortega’s regime.

Amaya Eva Coppens, a Belgian-Nicaraguan dual national, is due to stand trial in the capital Managua after being “abducted” in a raid by more than 30 riot police and paramilitaries on 10 September.

The 24-year-old activist, who had been studying in the city of León, is among more than 600 political prisoners detained since April when the state reacted with violence to demonstrations against planned social security reforms.

In an emotional appeal, her mother Tamara Zamora told the Guardian: “Amaya is a citizen of both Belgium and the European Union so I’m calling on the international community to use their powers to apply political pressure.

“We want to draw attention not only to Amaya’s case, but to those of others who are less visible. We want other governments to demand an end to this dictatorship to stop the repression.”

Described by her family as “passionate and tenacious” with a “strong social conscience”, Coppens is facing charges of terrorism, possession of firearms and being an accomplice to the kidnapping of police officers. Others facing similar charges have been handed sentences of up to 30 years, according to human rights groups.

Coppens was involved in the first protest on 18 April against Ortega’s plan to reduce benefits for pensioners. The following day she was beaten by police but saved by her peers.

She went on to become a key figure in the student movement, attending to the injured and bringing food to protesters amid a violent clampdown during which snipers targeted demonstrators under what Amnesty International described as Ortega’s shoot to kill strategy.

A student protester has her face painted in the colours of the Nicaraguan flag. Scores of protesters were killed during almost a month of demonstrations. Photograph: Diana Ulloa/AFP/Getty Images

Since May, Coppens had been moving between addresses. Her two brothers moved to Belgium amid fears for their safety, but she insisted on staying.

Zamora broke down in tears as she described the day her daughter was eventually tracked down.

“She was at a safe house but someone had betrayed [her], reporting her location. About 30 men arrived in trucks and one put a gun to her head, saying: ‘We’ve finally got you’.”

Coppens was taken to the El Chipote maximum security jail in Managua and held for eight days before being transferred to the La Esperanza prison for women.

“The first time I was allowed to see her I felt completely heartbroken,” said Zamora. “I knew she was sad and could see the realisation in her face this was not going to be a short-term thing.”

The parents’ second visit was on their daughter’s 24th birthday on 31 October. “She was in much better shape and told us she had been exercising and staying strong so she could continue the fight,” her mother recalled.

More than 152,000 people have signed a petition to free Coppens and other political prisoners.

A protest in Paris, France, for political prisoner Amaya Eva Coppens, who is awaiting trial in Nicaragua. Photograph: Courtesy of Coordinadora Universitaria - Democracia & Justicia/#freeamayacoppens

Zamora, whose husband is Belgian, said she thinks her daughter’s status as a dual national has prevented her from being tortured like other detainees.

But she added: “The Belgian authorities haven’t done much as there is no embassy in Nicaragua.” The family was told by the consulate that assistance would be limited because only one parent is Belgian.

Lawyers for the family have warned them to expect a sentence “in excess of 20 years” when Coppens stands trial this year.

“These are political trials,” said Zamora. “Even if you have the best lawyer in the world our kids will be found guilty and sentenced. The only way out of this is a change in government.”

The husband of another detainee, 37-year-old dentist Irlanda Jerez, agreed.

Daniel Esquivel said: “In terms of justice we have very little hope. The regime controls the judges and the legal system – it’s a political issue and the only solution will be a political one.”

He explained how charges brought against his wife were a smokescreen designed to silence her.

“She did not have any trouble with the government prior to the protests but she’s always had strong political opinions and started sharing these widely [on social media] after we became involved in the protests,” said Esquivel.

Dentist and entrepreneur, Irlanda Jerez, is a political prisoner in Nicaragua. Photograph: Radio Corporación

The authorities soon began digging into her past to see what they could use to attack her, claims Esquivel. They found details of a property dispute in 2016 which Jerez won on appeal in the supreme court.

Six vehicles surrounded her car in Managua on 18 July and Jerez was seized by armed police and subsequently charged in relation to the 2016 case. She was sentenced to five years in jail.

Irlanda Jerez with her husband Daniel Esquivel in Nicaragua before her arrest and imprisonment. Photograph: Handout

Esquivel said the inmates continue the resistance from behind bars by singing the Nicaraguan national anthem and weaving blue and white wrist bands.

But he fears for his wife’s safety. She was allegedly attacked on 26 October when 20 to 25 men wielding AK47s stormed the prison. It is understood they beat her after she refused to be taken for interrogation and many of her cellmates who tried to protect her were injured.

“When I saw her she had bruises on her back and limbs,” said Esquivel. “She is usually optimistic but she’s heard rumours they want to move her and says she is worried they want to ‘make her disappear for good’.”

Coppens’ family, meanwhile, remain defiant as they await news of her trial which has been postponed until February.

A Belgian foreign ministry spokesman said they were doing everything possible to support her case.

Protest in Brussels, Belgium, for political prisoner Amaya Eva Coppens. Photograph: Julien Valere-Gille/#freeamayacoppens

“Our embassy based in Panama has provided consular assistance from the beginning. We have been there at each stage of her case but because she is a dual national the assistance we can provide under international law is limited,” said Matthieu Branders.

“We cannot intervene on judicial matters but our minister met with the Nicaraguan minister for national affairs in September at the general assembly in New York, and asked that the investigation was conducted properly to ensure a speedy release.”

The Nicaraguan government has not responded to a request for comment.