100 days after Rocío San Miguel’s arrest, her release is demanded

Human rights defenders demanded this Sunday, May 19, the release of Rocío San Miguel, who has been detained for 100 days, accused of treason and of being part of a plan to assassinate Nicolás Maduro.

“We, the undersigned women human rights defenders, express our concern regarding the failure to comply with due process and human rights standards in the case of human rights defender Rocío San Miguel and with her that of all women political prisoners in Venezuela,” reads the document, signed by 121 activists and human rights defenders.

Among their criticisms, the signatories of the text highlight the lack of transparency and the violation of due process in the case of the detention of San Miguel, who was arrested on February 9 at the Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía and remained in a situation of forced disappearance for 50 hours.

“In 100 days, lawyers of her trust have made all the arrangements so that they can be formally sworn in as her legitimate trusted representatives; however, Rocío San Miguel has not yet had a preliminary hearing,” they say.

They also urge the Government to respect Article 49 of the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (CRBV), which guarantees the rights to legitimate defence, the presumption of innocence and the nullity of evidence when due process is violated.

Venezuelans in Madrid

A group of Venezuelans has once more demanded the release of human rights activist Rocío San Miguel and “all prisoners of conscience, more than 300” in Venezuela. They also expressed concern regarding possible “fraud” in the presidential elections in July.

One hundred days following the arrest of San Miguel and her ex-husband Alejandro González de Canales, both of Spanish-Venezuelan origin, approximately 50 people gathered in the center of Madrid in a show of “solidarity” and “support.”

They also said that there are “no guarantees” that the upcoming elections will be held as an “open and completely democratic” electoral process, referring to possible administrative obstacles to registration and voting, as well as to the presentation of candidates.