The human rights organization Un Mundo Sin Mordaza denounced this Friday the arbitrary detention of Aranza de los Ángeles Hernández Castillo, 19 years old, allegedly by security forces of the Venezuelan State.
This occurred, according to the complaint, just two days after her younger sister, Samantha Hernández, 16, was detained by police officials. General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence (Dgcim).
According to the NGO, both young women are sisters of First Lieutenant Christian Hernández Castillo, in exile after being accused by the government of Nicolás Maduro of treason.
Furthermore, they are nieces of Henry Castillo, missing since January 24a case documented by the Casla Institute and presented before international bodies such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the International Criminal Court (ICC).
A World Without a Gag expressed deep concern about what he described as a systematic practice of family persecution.
“These arrests are part of a growing pattern of persecution against relatives of politically persecuted people, a practice known as Sippenhaft, historically used by authoritarian regimes to punish innocent people in order to intimidate, pressure or silence others,” the organization said.
He demanded “the immediate release of Aranza and Samantha Hernández, as well as full guarantees for their integrity,” since “the persecution of families is a crime, not a method of control.”
He called for the immediate cessation of these practices and unrestricted respect for human rights.
Venezuela faces arbitrary detentions: pattern of imminent state violence
Activist Tamara Suju, director of the Casla Institute, also denounced the events, which she described as part of a “systematic pattern of kidnapping and prosecuting relatives,” which she compared to methods used by the Nazi regime.
“This includes grandparents, parents, children, nephews… and it is multiplying in Venezuela,” he warned.
Human rights organizations have warned on the use of arbitrary detention as a tool of political pressure in Venezuela against dissidents and their associates.
The international community has been called to establish a position on these events, which could constitute crimes against humanity.
