Amnesty International (AI) expressed its concern on Tuesday about the pproposed amnesty law presented on Friday by the president in charge of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, intended to benefit political prisoners detained since 1999.
The organization warned that this initiative should not become a way to cover up crimes or exempt from responsibility those guilty of serious violations.
Through a statement, AI stressed that it is still “unclear whether the amnesty law could be extended to State agents, which would turn it into a mechanism of impunity, a result that – it assured – should not be allowed.” The lack of certainty on this point worries the organization, which considers it essential to limit the rule only to cases of unjust political detentions.
Rodríguez, leader of the interim executive, has promoted the amnesty as a step to “heal the wounds” derived from decades of political confrontation under Chavista governments. In his words, the measure covers the entire period from 1999 – when Hugo Chávez came to power – to the present. In recent weeks, his administration has released hundreds of people detained for political reasons as part of this process.
However, Amnesty International He warned that the proposal is not sufficient on its own if it is not accompanied by structural changes that prevent the repetition of abuses. Among the elements that it considers essential are the repeal of repressive laws and the dissolution of state organizations used for arbitrary detentions and other serious violations of human rights.
Amnesty: symbolic releases precede continued detentions
The organization also recalled its observations about previous practices in Venezuela, when authorities released detainees as a symbolic gesture of goodwill, then began new detentions shortly thereafter. “Amnesty International has observed in the past how authorities release detained people as a gesture of goodwill, only to carry out new orarrests read shortly after“, notes the statement.
Rodríguez’s decree also contemplates transforming El Helicoide, the controversial headquarters of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (Sebin) in Caracas, into a social and sports center. This place has been repeatedly pointed out by human rights organizations and critics as a site where torture and human rights violations have been committed.
In this regard, AI acknowledged that “these announcements are welcome,” but insisted that the closure of El Helicoide alone does not guarantee an end to the serious crimes that have occurred there. The organization indicated that, in addition to that center, there are dozens of other detention places in Venezuela where arbitrary arrests have been documented, as well as evidence of clandestine detention centers operating without any legal framework.
Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard demanded the “immediate release of all arbitrarily detained people, without exception, an immediate end to enforced disappearances and torture, and the guarantee of the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly.”
Callamard also warned that “measures that do not achieve these changes perpetuate new cycles of violations, entrench impunity and deny victims their right to truth, justice and reparation.”
With information from Efe.
