- Currently 70 children and adolescents remain detained due to post-election protests
Relatives of minors detained in the context of the protests unleashed after the presidential elections of July 28 in Venezuela delivered a document to Unicef in Caracas on Monday, October 21, in which they ask the UN agency to intercede so that the 70 children and adolescents who remain imprisoned are released, as well as to verify their conditions.
The arrests occurred in the days after the presidential elections, when thousands of Venezuelans came out to protest against the official result of the elections, in which the National Electoral Council (CNE) awarded victory to Nicolás Maduro, while the majority opposition bloc , the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD), insists that the winner was its standard-bearer, Edmundo González Urrutia.
Adolescent children detained in inhumane conditions
Of the 142 minors who, according to the document, were captured, 70 remain in detention centers, where – relatives say – “they live in inhumane conditions not suitable for their age and condition, in violation of international standards.”
The relatives of the minors – accused of terrorism and incitement to hatred, among other crimes – explained that these conditions “include overcrowding, lack of access to basic health services, poor nutrition and lack of protection against physical and psychological abuse.”
In addition, they warned Unicef of the “alarming situation of children and young people” who, they insist, “are being unjustly detained” and asked for urgent help for their release.
Arrested for terrorism
Among the relatives was Nérida Ruiz, who stated that her 16-year-old son was arrested at his home on July 31 and is charged with the crimes of “terrorism, incitement to hatred, resistance to authority and qualified theft.” , since, in addition, he was blamed for the theft of a motorcycle, which the mother denies.
For her part, Katherine Martínez explained that her husband was summoned to the Scientific, Criminal and Criminal Investigation Corps (CICPC), where he went on August 4 with his 17-year-old daughter, who was detained at the scene. .
We went to accompany him (her husband), they made us enter the CICPC (..). They told us: ‘she is the one who stays because she is in a WhatsApp group.’ “My daughter is detained for being in a WhatsApp group,” she said, without specifying the reasons for summoning her husband.
Martínez pointed out that “they are asking for 10 years (in prison) for her” for the crime of “inciting hatred.”
According to the government, during the post-election crisis, 27 deaths were recorded, for which the authorities blame the opposition, and more than 2,400 people were detained.
However, the opposition accuses state security forces of repression and violence against protesters.
With information from EFE
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