They denounce the transfer of detainees during the protests to an unknown destination

The Venezuelan NGO Foro Penal denounced this Friday the transfer in the state of Nueva Esparta (island) of detainees during the post-election protests, without the relatives of these people know “the place where they are taken”, which constitutes – the organization stated – a “violation” of the Constitution.

“Relatives do not know where they are taking them (the detainees). They indicate that a plane is prepared for transfer out of Margarita Island. We remind that the authorities, by not informing the detainees and their relatives where they are going to be transferred, are violating (…) the Constitution,” warned the Penal Forum through X.

The NGO also said that detainees have been prevented from “naming lawyers they trust as their defence”, a practice that has been occurring in “most cases of detentions in the post-election context”.

The organization has 1,780 detainees – of which 1,550 are men and 230 are women. during protests against the official results of the presidential elections of July 28, in which the electoral authorities declared the victory of Nicolás Maduro, something that the largest opposition coalition considers “fraud” and which is questioned by a large part of the international community.

The anti-Chavez bloc claims that its standard-bearer, Edmundo González Urrutia, is the president-elect according to 83.5% of the electoral records that they say they gathered from witnesses and polling station members on election night, to support their claim of fraud in the presidential elections, documents that the government calls “false.”

According to official figures, more than 2,400 people were arrested and 25 people were killed during the post-election protests, for which the government blames the opposition, while international bodies such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights have denounced the “arbitrary use of force” by the State.

#30Ag Nueva Esparta. Transfer of detainees in the context of post-election protests in the state of Nueva Esparta, Venezuela. Relatives do not know where they are being taken. They indicate that a plane is ready for transfer out of Margarita Island.

We remind that the authorities… pic.twitter.com/z8fzgfUxf6

— Criminal Forum (@ForoPenal) August 30, 2024