OVP denounced that they hold early morning hearings for detainees in the post-election protests in the Tocorón prison

• There are 952 political prisoners in the Aragua Penitentiary Center | Photo: EFE/ Miguel Gutiérrez

The Venezuelan Prisons Observatory (OVP) reported that at the Aragua Penitentiary Center, also known as the Tocorón prison, in Aragua they held early morning hearings for those arbitrarily detained during the post-election protests.

“They have been coercing them to admit the factsbut 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 published note on their website on Saturday, 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.

Irregularities reported by the OVP

The OVP indicated that in the Tocorón prison one of the irregularities reported is that a date was set for those deprived of liberty for their preliminary hearing to be held on October 15, but many have been brought forward without notification.

Relatives reported unusual times for holding these hearings, some have taken place at midnight or early in the morning.

EFE/ Miguel Gutiérrez

Likewise, they want to force detainees to sign blank sheets confirming that they had a lawyer present. However, the hearings have been held without trusted lawyers present and with public defenders imposed.

“They just stay silent and do not defend our relatives who are innocent,” the relatives say in their testimonies.

Family visits are done through glass

The mothers of the detainees told the OVP that for visits, prison officials tell them that they cannot cry or they will suspend their meeting with the detainees.

The OVP reported that at the place of visits, family members cannot have any physical contact with those deprived of liberty because a glass separates them.

On the other hand, officials are attentive to their conversation. Furthermore, they insistently remind them that they have one minute less, a situation that generates a lot of stress for family members and detainees.

Relatives also indicated that the political prisoners have been found thin and claim that they are not receiving adequate food.

Courtesy: OVP

“This type of method for the family member to visit their loved one constitutes inhuman and degrading treatment for this group of people who are arbitrarily detained and in the penitentiary history of Venezuela this practice has never been used. Furthermore, it is a regressive and not a progressive procedure for people deprived of liberty,” said the OVP.

In this sense, the NGO demanded that the Venezuelan State respect the human rights of people deprived of liberty. In addition, he added that he will continue collecting these complaints from family members.

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