Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday offered Catholic clergymen under pressure in Nicaragua sanctuary in his country, where he said they have suffered “cruel persecution” at the hands of the left-wing leadership.

At the opening session of the United Nations General Assembly, weeks before the home election, the right-wing leader portrayed Brazil as a staunch supporter of religious freedom.

“Brazil is opening its doors to welcome the Catholic priests and nuns who are suffering cruel persecution by the dictatorial regime in Nicaragua,” he said, without giving details.

“Brazil opposes religious persecution wherever it occurs in the world.”

Nicaraguan police on August 19 arrested Bishop Rolando Alvarez, an outspoken critic of President Daniel Ortega’s government, and accused him of “destabilizing and provocative” activities.

The arrest drew harsh condemnations from Washington and the European Union, both of which warned of Nicaragua’s increasing repression of religious and opposition figures, civil society, human rights defenders, journalists and others.

Brazil is the largest majority Catholic nation in the world and Bolsonaro himself was born into a Catholic family.

He has also come close to the country’s evangelical Christian churches over the course of his four-year tenure, particularly in recent months as he lags behind in polls ahead of October’s election.

Bolsonaro has been a fierce advocate of conservative positions such as the ban on abortion, an issue he touched on in his speech in which he reiterated his “rejection of gender ideology.”