Three opposition members arrested during Edmundo González’s campaign event in Miranda were released

• The detainees remained for six hours at the PNB headquarters | Main photo: Mippci

The opposition party Causa R confirmed the release of its secretary general in Miranda, Rafael Marín, following having been arrested along with two other people on Saturday, July 6.

The Causa R reported in X (formerly Twitter) The arrest took place at Marín’s residence. In addition to the political activist, they took his wife Marilín Rondón and the driver of the sound truck at the campaign event in favor of Edmundo González, Jorge Alvis.

The release of the three detainees took place on the same day at 7:00 pm following having spent almost six hours in detention, according to information confirmed by the party. However, the vehicle with the sound equipment was not returned to them.

What is known regarding the arrest

At 1:29 pm on Saturday, July 6, officers from the Bolivarian National Police (PNB) transferred Marín from his residence to the police headquarters in that town.

They also took the sound truck that was touring the streets as part of Edmundo González’s campaign event, according to the X’s publication of the Cause R.

After his release from the police station, Marín said that the reason police officers used to arrest him was “noise pollution.”

“We might not load a truck with a sound system announcing Edmundo (González)’s candidacy, but our friends on the other side can say what they can do, shout and load their trucks,” he said in a video broadcast by The Whistle on their social networks.

In this regard, Marín asked the National Electoral Council (CNE) to allow equal conditions for opposition campaign events.

#Miranda | At 7:00 pm, PNB officers released the leader of Causa R, Rafael Marín, his wife and the driver of the truck used in the march in support of Edmundo González in Ocumare del Tuy. The vehicle was not returned. The officers claimed… pic.twitter.com/MQxYPE3PAV

— The Whistle (@ElPitazoTV) July 6, 2024

Venezuelan NGOs asked the UN to monitor the electoral campaign

Given the arrests of opponents at campaign events, at least recently 62 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) They asked the United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, to monitor and accompany the electoral process on July 28.

“We ask you, as the highest representative of the United Nations human rights protection system, to monitor, to speak out loud and clear, and to take all actions within your mandate to support the Venezuelan population in its right to resolve its conflicts in a peaceful and participatory manner,” the NGOs said in a statement published on Wednesday, July 3.

EFE/EPA/MARTIAL TREZZINI

They also asked that this support serve to enable Venezuelans to exercise their right to vote peacefully and to provide guarantees for voting in “credible, inclusive, transparent, competitive and legitimate” elections.

The NGOs cited figures recorded by the Laboratory for Peace and Access to Justice, which reveal the detention of 46 people linked to the presidential elections so far in 2024.

They also recalled that at least 32 acts of harassment and 12 cases of persecution once morest political activists have occurred.

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