The opposition leader Edmundo González warned about the risk of death faced by political prisoners in Venezuela due to lack of medical care. He explained that human rights organizations have reported that citizens suffer from illnesses that worsen while in prison.
Through a published statement in his X account, Edmundo González, noted: “Human rights organizations have documented that dozens of political prisoners suffer from serious illnesses —heart disease, cancer, neurological conditions, gynecological conditions, mental health disorders— that develop and worsen in confinement, without medical attention. Among them, Justicia, Encuentro y Perdón has recently warned about the magnitude and seriousness of these cases, which have now been fully identified.”
Edmundo González warns of risks that political prisoners experience
In this sense, the diplomat recalled that the NGO Justice, Encounter and Forgiveness (JEP) reported 91 cases of political prisoners with serious illnesses. Likewise, he warned that their health conditions worsen while they are in prison.
“These are not isolated events. The patterns are clear. In certain detention centers, the deterioration of health is repeated. The relationship between the place of detention and physical and mental harm is direct. Where there is isolation, inhumane conditions and denial of medical care, the disease advances,” he considered.
He mentioned that the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, warned “about the lack of medical care in custody in Venezuela.” And he pointed out that “this warning coincides with the information documented by the organizations and with what these political prisoners are experiencing today.”
He emphasized: “When a seriously ill person remains in state custody without treatment, their life is clearly in danger. And when that pattern is repeated, the risk of deaths in custody is no longer exceptional. These people should not be imprisoned. They are political prisoners. Illness cannot be an additional punishment or a pressure mechanism. Life, dignity and the right to health cannot be used as a pressure mechanism.”
