Caracas, Aug 5 (EFE).- The “vast majority” of those arrested in Venezuela in protests against the official result of the July 28 presidential election, in which President Nicolás Maduro was declared the winner, are accused of “terrorism,” Gonzalo Himiob, vice president of Foro Penal, told EFE on Monday.
The NGO, which leads the defense of those considered political prisoners in the country, has identified a “clear pattern” in the 1,010 arrests recorded since July 29 until 10:00 local time (14:00 GMT) on Monday, related to the accusation of crimes, among which they also record “incitement to hatred,” according to Himiob.
The lawyer indicated that, in addition, There is a “prequalification of crimes without even having investigated”since -he explained- these investigations, “in any case, are just beginning”, so “there would not yet be room to evaluate elements of conviction that would allow us to say whether it is one crime or another.”
According to authorities, there are about 2,000 detainees, And in many of the cases that Attorney General Tarek William Saab reported on in X, people are accused of “terrorism” for their participation in “violent” acts.
According to Himiob, the arrests have been “indiscriminate” and have been carried out “during” and “after” the demonstrations, although there have also been cases of people who “were not even participating” in them.
In this regard, Saab said that, once the corresponding investigations are carried out, those who are proven not to be related to the violence unleashed in the protests will be released, although it is unknown at what point the procedure is, or if some of the detainees have been released.
The vice president of Foro Penal also pointed out that, in “almost all cases”, the presentation hearings have been held “in the same detention centers” where they are detained, and “not in the courts”, and “many” of them by “video call” with the judge.
In addition, “in almost all cases, people have been presented with the public defender imposed on them,” the lawyer added.
Protests against the official election results in various Venezuelan cities have left, according to the Executive, two soldiers dead, to which, according to Foro Penal, 11 civilians have died, for a total of 13 fatalities.
The first vice president of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) and considered number two of Chavismo, Diosdado Cabello, said this Monday that “all the people detained are being presented for acts of terrorism and hate crimes.”
According to the National Electoral Council (CNE), Maduro was re-elected with 51.95% of the votes, while the majority opposition candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, obtained 43.18% of the votes, with 96.87% of the votes counted, which have not yet been published.
The main opposition coalition – the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD) – insists that the winner was its standard-bearer, González Urrutia, and bases this on 81.7% of the minutes that it claims to have obtained through witnesses and table members.
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2024-08-06 20:28:10