Among the 240 political prisoners there is a detained adolescent, close to reaching the age of majority. The Penal Forum also reported that since 2014 in Venezuela there have been 15,758 political arrests.
The NGO Foro Penal Venezolano denounced that, since the anti-government protests of 2014, at least 9,000 people have had some measure restricting their freedom that has not been resolved in court, despite the length of their detention.
The records of the Penal Forum indicate that in three out of four arbitrary arrests for political reasons, those affected have been victims of stigmatization by official means. These people are given a measure to substitute freedom, which does not complete the investigations or criminal proceedings against them.
This is not a formally declared policy, said Gonzalo Himiob, director of the Penal Forum, but it is in force against those people whom power finds uncomfortable or wants to neutralize. He also suggested that investigations be carried out in different strata of the Venezuelan State that carry out these actions.
A similar situation is being experienced by former Ferrominera worker Rodney Álvarez, who was released from prison with a substitute measure of freedom until the conclusion of the trial against him, despite being detained “preventively” for more than 10 years.
* Read also: After a decade as a political prisoner, Rodney Álvarez was released
As of Monday, April 11, there were 240 people deprived of liberty for political reasons in the country: 226 are men and 14 women. They also highlight that 110 prisoners are civilians and 130 belong to the military.
Among the 240 political prisoners there is a detained adolescent, close to reaching the age of majority. The Penal Forum also reported that since 2014 in Venezuela there have been 15,758 political arrests.
Balance of #Political prisoners in Venezuela on 04/11/2022 by @ForoPenal:
????? ?????? ???í: 240
Men: 226
Women: 14Civilians: 110
Military: 130Adults: 239
Teenagers: 1#Infographic #Balance #11Ab @Almagro_OEA2015 @UN_rights @UNHumanRights pic.twitter.com/jtqQ4Na47Z– Penal Forum (@ForoPenal) April 13, 2022
This April 17 marks the International Day of the Political Prisoner, as a reminder of the Palestinian political prisoner Mahmoud Baker Hijazi. The NGO highlighted the cases of some soldiers, among them, Captain Andrés Thompson and Major Víctor Ascanio, both from the Aviation, who will serve eight years in prison in Ramo Verde for political reasons on May 2.
The United States government presented a report on April 12 on human rights violations in countries like Venezuela and warned about the critical health condition of some political prisoners, including the activist Javier Tarazona, who served nine months in detention.
With information from Radio Faith and Joy
Post Views:
64
