The 1999 Constitution establishes that “sovereignty resides non-transferably in the people, who exercise it through suffrage, by the bodies that exercise Public Power. The organs of the State emanate from popular sovereignty and are subject to it,” recalled the Academy of Political and Social Sciences. At the same time, they denounce massive arrests without guarantees of due process, and restrictions on freedom of expression
The Academy of Political and Social Sciences issued a statement this Tuesday, January 14, in which it expressed its solidarity “with the anguish of the Venezuelan people, before the presidential inauguration” of Nicolás Maduro “carried out in the absence of the publication of the official disaggregated results by the National Electoral Council.” (CNE).
In this sense, they reported that the country’s situation is accompanied by massive arrests, with cases of people whose whereabouts are unknown, the confinement of detainees in maximum security prisons, the precarious health conditions of the prisoners, “without the guarantees of due process”, and restrictions on freedom of expression.
The Academy recalled that the 1999 Constitution establishes that “sovereignty resides non-transferably in the people, who exercise it through suffrage, by the bodies that exercise Public Power. The organs of the State emanate from popular sovereignty and are subject to it.
Likewise, the statement points out that the Magna Carta provides guarantees for an “elective, alternative and pluralist democracy.”
The Academy of Political and Social Sciences also pointed out that article 228 of the Constitution establishes that “the election of the president of the Republic will be done by universal, direct and secret vote, in accordance with the law. The candidate who has obtained the majority of valid votes will be declared elected.
Academy highlights rights of detainees
In this Tuesday’s statement, the Academy of Political and Social Sciences maintained that every detained person has the right to immediately communicate with their family, lawyer, or person they trust. He once again appealed to the Constitution to emphasize that detainees “have the right to be informed about the place where the detained person is; to be notified immediately of the reasons for the arrest and to leave a written record in the file about the physical and mental state of the detained person. either by themselves, or with the help of specialists.
Another aspect highlighted by the Academy is the constitutional prohibition on “the forced disappearance of people.” In this way, “the official who receives an order or instruction to practice it has the obligation not to obey it and to report it to the competent authorities. The intellectual and material authors: accomplices and concealers of the crime of forced disappearance of people, as well as the attempted commission of the same, will be sanctioned in accordance with the law.
According to the Penal Forum, so far in 2025, more than 80 arbitrary arrests have been recorded and in many of these cases the whereabouts of the detainees are unknown, as is the case, for example, in the cases of the activist and journalist Carlos Correa and the leader Enrique Márquez.
Furthermore, they highlighted that every person has the right to have their physical, mental and moral integrity respected; and no person may be subjected to cruel, inhuman, degrading punishment, torture or treatment.
*Also readMachado: “Maduro today did not put the band on his chest but on his ankle like a shackle”
On the other hand, the Academy indicated that article 57 of the Constitution provides that “every person has the right to freely express his thoughts, his ideas, or lively opinions, in writing or through any other form of expression and to use them for this from any means of communication and dissemination, without censorship being able to be established.
*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 is being published taking into consideration the threats and limits that have consequently been imposed on the dissemination of information from within the country.
Post Views: 104
