- In a statement, the agency said that the detainees had their hair shaved and were dressed in blue shirts and pants | Photo: EFE
The Venezuelan Prison Observatory (OVP) reported on Saturday, August 31, that the government of Nicolás Maduro carried out the transfer of more than 700 political prisoners, who were detained in the post-election protests, to the Carabobo Penitentiary Center (Tocuyito) and the Aragua Penitentiary Center (Tocorón), located in Carabobo and Aragua, respectively.
Through a statementThe agency reported that on Sunday, August 25, according to the family members, a group of detainees were admitted to the Yare III Capital Judicial Internment Center (Miranda state), where their hair was allegedly shaved and they were dressed in blue shirts and pants.
They were then transported in at least 14 buses to the Aragua Penitentiary Center, known as Tocorón; the Hombre Nuevo Libertador Training Center, known as Fénix Carabobo, and the facilities of the evacuated Carabobo Penitentiary Center, known as Tocuyito,” he said.
The OVP also documented that on Monday, August 27, transfers were reported from the headquarters of the Bolivarian National Police (PNB) in San Francisco, in the state of Zulia, and from the Criminal Investigations Directorate of the PNB, in Barinas, to the prisons of Tocorón and Tocuyito. In all cases, the authorities denied information to the relatives about the new destination of the prisoners’ confinement.
Other transfers recorded by the OVP were from the states of Nueva Esparta, Táchira and Apure, on Friday, August 30.
1.780
there are political prisoners in Venezuela, according to figures from the Penal Forum.
OVP denounced lack of physical and psychological check-ups
Following these transfers, the OVP reported that family members and private lawyers have not been able to communicate with the detainees, who have also not been subjected to any type of physical or psychological check-up to determine their health status, especially those with disabilities or pre-existing illnesses.
Many relatives have travelled miles away, despite the economic cost that this implies in a country plagued by inflation, and in none of the aforementioned prisons is there a list of those transferred. There is no one to give them information about the whereabouts of their relative, or when the visiting days will be and under what conditions,” he complained.
The Venezuelan Prison Observatory also expressed concern that the transfers were carried out with many irregularities, as the relatives were not properly informed and found out when food was brought to the detainees at police stations.
In light of this, the OVP stated that it remains alert to these events that violate judicial guarantees and human rights in order to inform the international and inter-American system for the protection of human rights.
Inhumane conditions
The Venezuelan Prison Observatory (OVP) reported on August 22 that those arrested in the post-election protests are being held in “inhumane conditions.”
In a statement, the organization said that none of the people had undergone a medical examination, despite the fact that some of them suffer from a pathology or disability.
The observatory also mentioned that prisoners suffer from the lack of drinking water in prisons. They said that the small amount they receive is not suitable for consumption or personal hygiene.
The OVP referred to the conditions of detainees in police cells, who must share “overcrowded and unsanitary” cells, while food and drinking water must be provided by their families.
“(The detainees) have to relieve themselves in plastic bags or containers, and are forced to sleep on the floor or standing up, depending on the number of detainees in the same cell,” the organization said.
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2024-09-01 03:09:07