131 political prisoners have been released as of Sunday
The NGO Foro Penal, which leads the defense of political prisoners in Venezuela, reported this Sunday that it has registered and verified the release of 131 people linked to the protests against the official result of the presidential elections on July 28.
«We have registered and verified 131 releases carried out by review of measures requested by the Public Ministry,” the NGO indicated in a publication in x.
He explained that those released will have to go to court this Monday to “impose alternative measures for their deprivation of liberty.”
«We understand that in your majority there is no full freedom and judicial processes continue«added the Penal Forum.
Reposted from @alfredoromero Yesterday morning there were other releases of political prisoners (post-electoral situation), including some teenagers.
In @foropenal We have registered and verified 131 releases, carried out by review of requested measures… pic.twitter.com/z8ZDefM2ZF
— Penal Forum (@ForoPenal) November 17, 2024
Likewise, he said that with this process of releases, which have occurred in prisons in the states of Aragua, Miranda, Carabobo, La Guaira and Guárico, more than 1,700 political prisoners remain in the country.
What does the Public Ministry say about the releases?
On Saturday, the Attorney General of Venezuela, Tarek William Saab, assured that between Friday afternoon and Saturday 225 freedom measures were “granted and executed” to detained people after protests against the official result that proclaimed Nicolás Maduro as the winner of the presidential elections on July 28.
The Prosecutor’s Office published this information through Instagram hours after various NGOs announced more than a hundred releases that were recorded since dawn and throughout Saturday in various prisons in Venezuela.
According to the institution, which did not detail which prisons in the country the people who received the measures were in, the request to review the cases was made based on “exhaustive investigations based on new evidence and evidence collected by prosecutors”.
According to the NGO and opposition parties, 1,850 people were arrested after the presidential elections in protests against Maduro’s re-election or in police operations, among them 69 minors, as well as dozens of women and soldiers, almost all accused of crimes such as terrorism. and conspiracy.
The figure is lower than what the government manages – estimated at 2,400 people – since the NGOs exclude people who, they consider, have committed a crime and only consider those who qualify as political prisoners.
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