- The president of the NGO, Alfredo Romero, recalled that human rights activist Javier Tarazona has been in prison for 3 years | Main photo: EFE/ MIGUEL GUTIÉRREZ
The non-governmental organization (NGO) Foro Penal reported that the number of political prisoners in Venezuela has increased to 287, compared to the 282 deprived of liberty reported in the previous report.
He also explained that: 260 of those included in the registry are men, while 27 are women. Of the total number of political prisoners reported by Foro Penal, 138 are civilians and 149 are military personnel. The figures published in the report were collected up to July 1 of this year.
Balance of #PoliticalPrisoners in Venezuela on 01/07/2024 by @ForoPenal:
𝗧𝗼𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗼𝘀: 287
Men: 260
Women: 27Civilians: 138
Military: 149Adults: 287
Teenagers: 0#Infographic #Balance #1Jl @Almagro_OEA2015 @UN_rights @UNHumanRights pic.twitter.com/bb1HU4zVC0— Criminal Forum (@ForoPenal) July 3, 2024
Alfredo Romero, president of the NGO, recalled through a video published on July 2 on his X account (formerly Twitter) that it had been three years since the arrest of human rights defender and coordinator of Fundaredes, Javier Tarazona.
“Javier is a human rights defender who is in prison precisely for his activism, for the complaints he made. And he was imprisoned in the offices of the Attorney General’s Office in Falcón state, in the city of Coro, when he was denouncing the situation of persecution he was experiencing,” Romero said.
The president of the Penal Forum said that the case of activist Javier Tarazona has had irregularities in its development. He added that the prosecutor who requested the arrest of the director of Fundaredes is currently deprived of liberty.
“Javier has already been through three trials because his case has been suspended and started again. An important situation in the case of Javier Tarazona is that the prosecutor who requested his arrest is, as of today, deprived of liberty for corruption crimes,” added the director of the organization.
Tarazona is being held at the headquarters of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (Sebin) located in El Helicoide (Caracas).
The report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Volker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, presented his new policy during an interactive dialogue with the organization’s member states on July 3. Update on the situation in Venezuela
The official said that human rights violations in the country continue to worsen due to the actions of government authorities.
The High Commissioner referred to the detention of activists Rocío San Miguel and Carlos Julio Rojas, who have not had access to lawyers of their choice for their defense. In this regard, he demanded the release of all those arbitrarily detained, including Javier Tarazona, director of Fundaredes, who has been “unjustly” detained for three years.
“Since May 2023, we have documented 28 arrests of people with dissident views. These practices must end immediately. I urge accountability for those who are victims of repression,” he said.
“Mistreatment” of prisoners in Venezuela
Regarding the transfer of detainees to El Rodeo prison, Türk expressed concern about the mistreatment of inmates and relatives, as well as the lack of access to timely legal assistance.
“People continue to be charged with terrorism charges that do not comply with human rights standards,” he added.
He said there are problems with the right to a fair trial. In this area, they have documented 29 cases of people being tried in the last year. He also indicated that the detainees have no contact with lawyers or relatives, which constitutes the perpetration of a forced disappearance.
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2024-07-04 09:08:10