- The NGO denounced that in this process there is “pre-qualification of crimes without even having investigated” | Photo: EFE/ Ronald Peña R.
Gonzalo Himiob, vice president of the Penal Forum, denounced on Monday, August 5, that the “vast majority” of those arrested in Venezuela in protests against the official result of the presidential elections of July 28 are accused of “terrorism.”
The non-governmental organization (NGO), which leads the defense of political prisoners in the country, identified a “clear pattern” in the 1,010 arrests recorded since July 29 through Monday, August 5, related to the accusation of crimes, among which they also recorded “incitement to hatred.”
Furthermore, Himiob indicated that there is a “prequalification of crimes without even having investigated.”
“These investigations are just beginning, so there is still no time to evaluate evidence that would allow us to say whether this is one crime or another,” he explained in an interview with EFE.
More than 2,000 people have been arrested, according to authorities
According to the authorities, there are about 2,000 detainees and, in many cases, they accuse the individuals of “terrorism” for their alleged participation in “violent” acts, according to the publications of the Attorney General, Tarek William Saab, on X (formerly Twitter).
Himiob said the arrests were “indiscriminate” and had been carried out during and after the protests, although there were also 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 found not to be related to the violence unleashed in the protests will be released. However, it is not known at what stage the procedure is, or if some of the detainees were released.
Himiob 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 almost all cases, people have been presented with the public defender imposed on them,” the lawyer added.
Post-election protests
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 number two of Chavismo, Diosdado Cabello, said this Monday, August 5, that “all the people detained are being presented for acts of terrorism and hate crimes.”
The National Electoral Council (CNE) announced Maduro’s reelection 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 the electoral body has not yet published.
However, 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.
With information from EFE
Related news
#Foro #Penal #denounced #arrested #protests #accused #terrorism
2024-08-06 09:23:10
