Relatives of Venezuelan political prisoners demand freedom for their relatives during a vigil in Caracas (Venezuela). Relatives and friends of those considered “political prisoners”, accompanied by activists and other citizens, held a vigil on Sunday, December 1st, in a square in Caracas to demand the release of these detainees, as well as the cessation of repression in the country. Photo by: EFE/ Ronald Peña
At least 190 Venezuelan political prisoners who were detained after the presidential elections on July 28th in Venezuela were irregularly transferred from the Yare III penitentiary center, in Miranda State, to the Tocorón prison in Aragua – more than 100 kilometers away – and without notifying their families or lawyers, according to what two NGOs reported on Thursday, December 5th.
Through X, formerly known as Twitter, the Committee for the Freedom of Political Prisoners assured that the mothers “are very distressed” because they were not informed about the transfer of their loved ones, who were detained, according to this organization, in the states of Anzoátegui, Miranda and Portuguesa.
It also indicated that “the poverty” of these mothers – who already expressed “the sacrifice that it meant to get to Yare III” – prevents them from spending money on transportation to where their children are being held.
The non-governmental organization condemned this action, which it said “does not put an end to the injustice against these poor families,” while demanding “immediate freedom” for these people “arbitrarily accused of terrorism.” “None of them are terrorists, all of them are innocent,” the committee said.
For its part, the NGO ‘Justicia, Encuentro y Perdón’ (Justice, Encounter and Forgiveness) considers that this transfer “adds to the long list of injustices that the families” of these people have and continue to suffer.
“It is unacceptable that they have not been informed about these transfers, as mandated by the legal regulations, even though many of these mothers and wives make enormous sacrifices to visit their children, since they are people of limited resources,” the organization said through X.
After the presidential elections, the largest opposition coalition denounced fraud when the official results were announced, which gave a re-election win to Nicolás Maduro. This triggered widespread protests against this supposed victory and, in this context, more than 2,400 people were arrested, according to the Chavista Prosecutor’s Office, which accuses those arrested of committing “violence” and “vandalism” and of being “terrorists.”
As of last Friday, the NGO ‘Foro Penal’ (Penal Forum) indicated that there are 1,903 political prisoners in the country, most of them detained after the past presidential elections.
EFE