Relatives of Américo De Grazia do not know details about the alleged hearing held

100 days after his arrest, relatives of the political leader Américo De Grazia they declared that He would have had a preliminary hearing on October 28, at night and electronically, but they do not know the details.

They handle the situation under presumption, since it is information obtained through the Department of Public Defense; However, to date they have not had access to the file and details of the case, as stated by their daughter María Andreina De Grazia.

“The preliminary hearing is supposed to have been on Monday, October 28th. It is assumed that it was at night, virtually, they did not transfer him anywhere. We went to the office of his public defender in Caracas, in person, on three occasions already and we have not had access to speak with him. He does not attend to us and we do not know what crime he was given in that preliminary hearing,” De Grazia pointed out.

In this sense, the interviewee explained that they have gone to the Caracas Public Defense offices to obtain more information, in this instance they were informed that Américo De Grazia was being charged with instigation of hatred and rebellion; nevertheless, They have not been able to see the file to confirm this information.

“Until today we have not had access to see the file. We are not aware that this information is true. Public Defense is a department where you go to request information about the case of each detainee. The public defender does not attend and the Department of Public Defense gave us that information. They told us that they do not have access to the file either, that this information comes from the public defender who sent this data to the officials who treated him. “We do not have access to the file or to speak with the public defender,” he said.

Américo De Grazia was deprived of liberty on August 8 in the city of Caracas and detained in El Helicoide. Relatives declared for this medium that the opposition leader was being threatened by the mayor of the Piar municipality, Yulisbeth García, and that is why he preferred to travel to the capital, where he was apprehended while on his way to a medical appointment.

They demand proof of life of Américo De Grazia

During the more than three months that he has been deprived of liberty, the family has been asking the authorities to present a certificate of life for Américo De Grazia, Since they do not have access to visits, they do not receive information nor have they been notified about the process.

After his capture, an El Helicoide official confirmed, informally, that the former mayor of Piar was in that detention center. Subsequently, relatives of political prisoners who have access to visits claimed to have confirmed the presence of De Grazia with their incarcerated relatives. Outside of that, there is no greater certainty of his whereabouts.

“We don’t know anything about him. We have contact with some other relatives of political prisoners because they are also there and they have had visits. They have told us that their relative tells them that Américo is there, but nothing more than that. Even though we demand proof of life, the right to visits, the right to private defense so that lawyers demand a visit for legal issues… Nothing has been granted to us. We are complying with the visiting regime to bring drinking water, meals. Normally they receive things, but we don’t know if they are delivering it to him or if he is okay,” De Grazia said.

Since the capture, De Grazia’s family has made various international efforts to achieve the release of the leader of Free Guyana. María Rosa De Grazia, daughter of the detainee, appeared before the Italian Senate to request support from the Italian Government given the nationality of Américo De Grazia.

In this presentation, María Rosa De Grazia asked the Italian ambassador in Venezuela, Giovanni Umberto de Vito, to arrange a diplomatic visit to El Helicoide to verify the state of her father’s health. However, so far there have been no responses.