Jorge Arreaza, who chairs the parliamentary commission in charge of supervising compliance with the legislation, explained that the Attorney General’s Office presented 379 amnesty requests before the courts competent to grant the measures to the applicants.
The administration of Delcy Rodríguez ordered the first 379 releases of political prisoners after the approval of the Amnesty Law for Democratic Coexistence, reported this Saturday, February 21, the official deputy Jorge Arreaza, who chairs the parliamentary commission in charge of supervising compliance with the legislation.
In an interview broadcast on the state channel’s website Venezuelan Television (VTV)Arreaza explained that the Attorney General’s Office presented 379 amnesty requests before the competent courts to grant the measures to the applicants, and assured that the beneficiaries should be released between Friday night and this Saturday morning. “This is going to be the dynamic in the coming days,” added the parliamentarian.
Of the total applications submitted, 371 correspond to Caracas, while five are in the state of Barinas (west), two in Portuguesa (west) and one in Monagas (east), Arreaza explained.
The NGO Foro Penal, which leads the defense of political prisoners in the country, reported through its vice-president Gonzalo Himiob that it has been verifying since early this Saturday the first releases derived from the application of the law.
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The regulations, approved last week by Parliament and promulgated by the acting president Delcy Rodríguez, cover, in theory, events that occurred between 1999 and 2026. However, they delimit 13 specific political situations starting in 2002, which has raised questions about exclusions in at least 15 of the last 27 years, as well as regarding cases related to military operations.
Rodríguez, who requested “speed” from the special commission to also review cases not contemplated in the law, has defended the measure as a step towards democratic coexistence in the country.
For its part, Foro Penal estimated on Friday that at least 400 detainees could be excluded from the benefit, and announced that it will provide the commission with a first list of 232 cases for additional evaluation.
According to the organization’s records, more than 600 political prisoners remain detained in Venezuela, after the release of 448 people since January 8 under other release measures.
The implementation of the first releases occurs in the midst of a political situation marked by expectations both inside and outside the country about the real scope of the Amnesty Law and its judicial implementation, in a context of deep polarization and debates on justice, reconciliation and human rights.
*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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