- The president of the NGO, Alfredo Romero, indicated that 948 people are being held in the penitentiary for the post-election protests.
Alfredo Romero, president of the non-governmental organization (NGO) Foro Penal, reported that the authorities at the Tocorón prison (Aragua) did not allow the delivery of appointments for the private defense of detainees in the post-election context.
In a video shared on the NGO’s social media, Romero explained that upon arriving at the Tocorón prison on September 18, the prison authorities informed him that visits, both for family members and private lawyers, were restricted.
However, the president of the NGO was able to verify that 948 people are being held in this penitentiary in connection with the post-election protests.
Penal Forum counted until September 18 at least 1,834 political prisoners in Venezuelawhich they consider to be the highest figure recorded so far in the country.
The NGO said that of the total number of detainees, 1,608 are men and 226 are women, of whom 1,677 are civilians and another 157 are military personnel. In addition, 1,774 are adults, while the other 60 are minors.
The Penal Forum also indicated that 150 of the total number of political prisoners have already been sentenced, while 1,684 remain in detention without receiving a sentence.
Reports of irregularities involving detainees
The Venezuelan Prison Observatory (OVP) has warned on several occasions that those detained in the post-electoral context were not given due process, because the authorities did not carry out the physical and psychological medical examinations required by law.
They also warned that the authorities are keeping them isolated and not allowing them to communicate with their families or private lawyers.
“Many relatives have traveled 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,” the organization detailed on its social networks on September 18.
The NGO also stressed its concern about the irregular transfer of detaineesbecause the relatives were not properly notified and found out about the relocation when they went to the penitentiary centers.
Teenagers linked to post-election protests
Luis Armando Betancourt, deputy director of the Penal Forum, reported on September 2 that 28 teenagers are deprived of their freedom for being linked to the post-election protests.
“From a panorama of 114 adolescents that the Penal Forum recorded since the arrests that occurred on July 29, there has been a total of 86 adolescents released so far,” confirmed the member of the NGO in an interview for NTN24.
Betancourt recalled that the released adolescents are under restrictive measures, which means that they did not receive full freedom.
“These are precautionary measures that substitute freedom, such as being subject to periodic appearances in court, not making statements to the media, remaining in the educational system or under the guardianship and protection of the father or representative,” explained the deputy director of the Penal Forum.
According to Betancourt, the released adolescents are between 14 and 16 years old.
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2024-09-20 08:24:52
