Human rights organizations and Venezuelan opposition parties denounced this Monday a series of arbitrary transfers of political prisoners to prisons in the country, carried out without prior notice to family members or defense lawyers.
The NGO Justice, Encounter and Forgiveness (JEP) warned that it has received “repeated reports” from relatives who found out about the change of location of their relatives when they went to the penitentiary centers to bring them food and basic necessities.
“This persistent pattern of arbitrary interprison transfers, carried out without a court order and without adequate notification to families or trusted lawyers, constitutes a serious violation of national and international standards,” the organization said in a statement published in X.
He demanded that the authorities provide “timely, truthful and complete” information about the whereabouts of the detainees and that they guarantee that any movement has judicial authorization and is notified immediately.
The Human Rights Committee of the Vente Venezuela party, led by the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado, also reported “new arbitrary transfers” of prisoners in Caracas prisons, pointing out that those affected were not informed.
The National Union of Press Workers reported that the relatives of journalist Rory Branker – detained on February 20 – reported his transfer to an “unknown destination without notice”, and demanded that his whereabouts be revealed.
Earlier, the opposition party Voluntad Popular reported the transfer of political activist Aldo Rosso – detained 16 months ago – from the headquarters of the Bolivarian National Police (PNB) in Caracas to the Tocuyito prison, in the state of Carabobo.
Death of Alfredo Díaz
This complaint comes after the NGO Foro Penal reported on Saturday the death in prison and in state custody of the former opposition governor of Nueva Esparta Alfredo Díaz, who had been imprisoned for more than a year.
The Ministry for the Penitentiary Service reported the same Saturday that Díaz died of a heart attack.
The opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and Edmundo González Urrutia warned that Díaz’s death reveals a “sustained pattern of state repression” and denounced that there are already seven political prisoners who have died in prison since the presidential elections of July 2024.
Foro Penal counted 887 political prisoners in Venezuela until December 1, of which 85 have foreign nationality. The government of Nicolás Maduro, however, denies the existence of political prisoners and affirms that those detained have committed crimes, a position rejected by NGOs and the opposition.
