The Committee for the Freedom of Union Fighters requested this Saturday the release of a teenager who was not included in the releases reported during Christmas Day of people who had been detained after the 2024 presidential elections.
In a message published on X, he stated that “he should have been released” to Gabriel Rodríguez, 17 years old, who remains in prison after having been sentenced to 10 years in prison on December 16 for the alleged crimes of “terrorism, incitement to hatred and closure of public roads.”
“He did not commit any crime and, like all political prisoners, he is innocent”said the NGO, reviewed by the agency EFE.
For its part, the NGO Committee for the Freedom of Political Prisoners (Clippve) published in X a list with the identities of the 63 people whose releases have been verified, which includes 3 teenagers, 21 women and 39 men.
71 releases
The organization has received a total of 71 release reports, of which they have verified 63.
“In a context of official opacity, fear and repression, where many families are still afraid to speak or publicly confirm the release of their loved ones, it remains a challenge to know all the cases“Clippve explained.
Likewise, he insisted that none of the released people should have been arrested and reiterated his demand for the “immediate release” of all political prisoners.
On Friday, Clippve declared that the recent releases “are not an act of benevolence” by the government and noted that the figure “does not even reach 10% of the cases” of political prisoners that this organization documents in the South American country.
The Ministry for the Penitentiary Service reported on Thursday night on the release of 99 people detained after the 2024 presidential elections, without specifying their identities or publishing a list.
Until Friday afternoon, the NGO Foro Penal, which leads the defense of political prisoners, had confirmed the identity of 52 people released.
In its most recent bulletin, with a cut-off date of December 15, Foro Penal counted 902 political prisoners in Venezuela, 86 of them foreigners or Venezuelans with another nationality.
However, Maduro’s Executive assures that the country is “free of political prisoners” and that those designated as such are imprisoned for the “commission of terrible punishable acts.”
