107 political prisoners were released this Saturday

To the at least 107 political prisoners of the 1,848 detained in the framework of the post-election protests recorded by the Penal Forum, were released early this Saturday in different penitentiary centers in the country, after the attorney general, Tarek William Saabwill announce the review of 225 court cases.

The information was confirmed by the director of the Penal Forum, Alfredo Romero, through a message published on his account on the social network X.

“At this time we have verified 107 political prisoners, due to the post-electoral situation, released in Venezuela”reported at 7:00 pm, in a publication accompanied by audiovisual, in which you can see a young man who identifies himself as Luis Enrique Correa Espinoza, from the state of Apure, with his release ticket outside the Penitentiary Center of Aragua, known as Tocorón.

The releases of post-election political prisoners are occurring in four prisons in the center of the country: Las Crisálidas and Yare III, in Miranda; Tocorón, in Aragua; and Tocuyito, in Carabobo; according to reports from NGOs, human rights defenders and family members, shared on social networks.

“Thank you, my God”, “Glory to God”, “Glory to the father, glory to the son, glory to the holy spirit”, “freedom”, were some of the exclamations that could be distinguished from the videos published in heartbreaking crying and moving hugs from the detainees and their families.

Among those released this Saturday are former mayor of the Marcano municipality of Nueva Esparta state, José Ramón Díaz; the psychology professor of the Central University of Venezuela (UCV), Salvador Rivera; the editor of the Sapa del Orinoco, Gilberto Reina; the LGBTIQ+ affairs coordinator of Encuentro Ciudadano in Carabobo, Nelson Merino; the Trujillo announcer Jesús Mata; and Vicente Scarano, son of former San Diego Mayor Enzo Scarano.

#16Nov 7:00pm At this time we have verified 107 political prisoners, due to the post-electoral situation, released in #Venezuela @ForoPenal pic.twitter.com/KL57tMFRDo

— Alfredo Romero (@alfredoromero) November 16, 2024

More releases are expected

«225 detainees are released» this weekend, he told the AFPon the other hand, a source from the prosecution.

The AFP confirmed nine releases from the Yare III prison.

More than 2,400 people were arrested during the demonstrations against Maduro’s re-election that left 28 dead and almost 200 injured, according to data from the prosecutor’s office. Among those detained were 164 teenagers, of which 69 remain behind bars.

«I feel pretty good, I’m glad to be back on the street»said Alexis José Ochoa, 64, as he left the Yare center, where relatives received the recently released prisoners with applause, hugs and tears.

“They treat us well in the prison, but the bad thing was when the national police officers detained us, they kicked us,” he added. “They looked for us today at 5:00 in the morning,” and among jokes the police said: “it’s going to be a transfer (…) you’re free boy!”

Some relatives were notified about the releases, while others approached the prisons based on the information that spread on social networks.

«Today we came because we found out on the networks»declared to the AFP Alexandra Hurtado, 47, while waiting with about 50 people in front of Yare III, wearing a shirt with the photo of her son Oscar Escalona, ​​23, and the message: “He is not a terrorist, he is innocent.”

«It is a rise and fall of emotions. It’s like in motherhood waiting to give birth,” adds Michell Hurtado, the young man’s aunt. “We are pushing,” adds the mother.

Luis Alarcón, a 22-year-old young man who suffers from diabetes, and who was one of those released from the Tocorón prison. Photo: X @FundehullanVzla

Case review

In Las Crisálidas, another group also waited for the release of detained women.

«These four months have been horribleseeing my daughter crying in the corners. (…) I told her mom is coming,” he told the AFP Junior, a 34-year-old chef who did not give his last name and was waiting to find out if his wife would be released.

The prosecutor’s office announced on Friday the review of 225 cases of detainees after a call from the Maduro who asked to “rectify” if there was “some procedural error”. The entity did not specify which cases would be examined.

Maduro was proclaimed winner of the July 28 elections without the details of the scrutiny being known yet. The opposition, led by María Corina Machado and her presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia, denounced fraud.

«Whoever has been responsible for criminal actions subject to a link as a direct participant in them will be punished, will be sanctioned; “Whoever has not had such responsibility in the midst of an investigation will be subject to a review of the measure,” Attorney General Tarek William Saab said on Friday.

The prosecutor’s office also promised to continue reviewing cases after meeting with several relatives of prisoners who last week asked for releases before Christmas.

«Repressive crisis»

Hundreds of relatives have protested demanding “justice” by ensuring that their detained loved ones were not demonstrating at the time they were arrested. They have also reported torture and mistreatment.

On Monday, a group of relatives plans to hold a “vigil” in front of the prosecutor’s office to continue their demand for more releases. “There are not 225, there are more than 2,000 young people unjustly detained!”reads the call to the event.

According to the Penal Forum, which denounced a “repressive crisis”, as of Thursday there were “1,976 political prisoners” in Venezuela.

This is the «highest number of political prisoners in the 21st centuryand the highest number of political prisoners in the entire American continent,” he noted.

The opposition has denounced that the detainees are in “inhumane” conditions and that they have been denied medical care. An opposition activist died on Thursday in the custody of the authorities due to a heart problem, associated with complications from diabetes.

With information from AFP