- The mothers reported that the detainees have gone four days without drinking water and are given spoiled food.
A group of relatives of those detained in the post-election context protested on October 17 outside the Tocuyito Penal Center, in Carabobo, to denounce the poor conditions in which the prisoners are found and to demand their release.
The non-governmental organization (NGO) A Window to Freedom reported that the mother of one of the detainees indicated that those deprived of liberty have not drunk water for four days and do not have personal hygiene products. “My son told me: ‘Mom, I want water,’” she reported.
“They don’t have soap, they don’t have deodorant, they don’t have any personal hygiene and they don’t allow family members to give them anything. “They don’t even allow you to pass him a piece of candy,” he said.
Furthermore, one of the mothers maintained that although she was able to see her son, who told her that they no longer gave him food with worms, the food they offer him is still in poor condition.
Violations of the right to due process
Una Ventana a La Libertad pointed out that in the state of Cojedes, private lawyers and human rights organizations have denounced that detainees are violated due process and are not allowed to have a reliable defense.
The detainees are assigned a public defender who does not show the evidence and documents provided by the relatives.
On October 13, the NGO denounced that the situation of the prisoners is delicate and complex, because the suspension of hearings generates a procedural delay that seriously affects their rights and the possibility of a fair trial.
The relatives stated that for many of the political prisoners who are in the Carabobo Penitentiary Complex (Tocuyito prison) the hearing date is being changed by up to 7 and 10 days.
Although the hearing is being delayed for some, it is being brought forward to others. “My nephew’s turn was on October 25 and now they moved it to the 18th. This has us in a bind with the issue of documents,” said a relative.
Early morning hearings
The Venezuelan Prisons Observatory (OVP) reported that at the Aragua Penitentiary Center, also known as the Tocorón prison, they held early morning hearings for those arbitrarily detained during the post-election protests.
“They have been coercing them to admit the facts, but they are very clear: no one can plead guilty to a crime that they have not committed and for which they have no evidence either,” one of the relatives of the detainees told the OVP in a note published in its website on October 12.
According to the non-governmental organization (NGO), 952 political prisoners are held in this penitentiary center.
The OVP assured that the pressure for prisoners to confess comes from prison officials. The authorities assure them that a confession would reduce their sentence.
Pressure and threats to prisoners
The NGO Provea reported on October 11 that people detained after the July 28 elections, They are pressured and threatened so that they “admit crimes that the Public Ministry (MP) has accused them of without evidence” and “without guarantees” of “due process,” according to complaints received by the organization from relatives of those arrested.
Through torture and cruel treatment,” which include “beatings, denial of food and medicine, and restrictions on receiving visitors.”
They would be forced to sign and put their fingerprints on blank papers, which constitutes a massive procedural fraud and a new and open violation of the judicial guarantees of the detainees,” said Provea, without specifying whether he received any type of evidence. in addition to the testimonies of family members, to support the claim.
The detained people, Provea pointed out, are being “accused of terrorism,” a crime that, according to Venezuelan legislation, contemplates penalties of between 25 to 30 years in prison.
After the presidential elections, more than 2,400 people were arrested, according to figures from the Executive, in the context of massive protests against the result of the National Electoral Council (CNE) that declared Nicolás Maduro the winner.
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