During a hearing before the European Parliament, Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius condemned “the arbitrary detention of at least 2,500 citizens, including several citizens of the European Union,” he claimed.
The European Union (EU) demanded this Tuesday, January 21, the release of all political prisoners in Venezuela, including European citizens who have been arbitrarily detained by the administration of Nicolás Maduro.
«The persecution of the democratic opposition and members of civil society is worsening in Venezuela. The intimidation tactic has now spread to their families. What bad have they done? They are simply defending their freedoms, they are defending democracy in their country,” denounced the European Commissioner for Defense, Andrius Kubilius.
During a hearing before the European Parliament, Kubilius condemned “the arbitrary detention of at least 2,500 citizens, including several citizens of the European Union. All political prisoners must be released unconditionally,” he claimed.
Kubilius also referred to Edmundo González Urrutia and the opposition leader María Corina Machado, highlighted “the bravery” of both, and reiterated that “the EU is firmly in solidarity with Venezuela, in order for human rights to be fulfilled.”
Finally, he had words for the Venezuelans, to whom he reiterated the European organization’s commitment to their cause: “The will of the people must be respected (…) the European commitment to democracy does not allow any other attitude on our part.”
“We are going to continue working with all Venezuelans to promote dialogue and a way out of the democratic crisis,” he indicated.
European Union: Maduro has no legitimacy
For his part, the Minister of European Affairs of Poland, Adam Szłapka, representing the European Council, asserted that “on January 10, Venezuela did not recognize the will of the Venezuelan people. “There was no transparent and democratic transition.”
He recalled that since the presidential elections of July 28, the European Union and the international community have been asking for the publication of disaggregated results that can be independently verified.
“Millions of people supported Edmundo González Urrutia and therefore the EU considers that Nicolás Maduro does not have legitimacy as president,” he noted.
Szłapka joined the call for the release of political prisoners, including European citizens imprisoned in Venezuela.
With information from Monitoreamos
*Journalism in Venezuela is carried out in a hostile environment for the press with dozens of legal instruments in place to punish the word, especially the laws “against hate”, “against fascism” and “against the blockade.” This content was written taking into consideration the threats and limits that, consequently, have been imposed on the dissemination of information from within the country.
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