They report that there are almost 270 political prisoners in Venezuela

While international pressure on the regime grows Nicola Maduro Due to the exclusion of opponents from participation in the presidential elections scheduled for July, an important organization has denounced that in Venezuela there are 269 ​​“political prisoners”.

The president of the Venezuelan NGO Foro Penal, Alfredo Romero, said that there are currently five more than a month ago, when he reported 264 people detained for ideological reasons. Currently, of the total “political prisoners” registered, 249 are men and 20 are women, mostly members or former members “of the military sector”.

According to Romero, the Criminal Forum calculated that from 2014 to April this year almost 16,000 people “passed through political prison”, of which 9,000 were released but remain “with precautionary measures”, such as “the ban on leaving the country .” , presentation in court and in any case they find themselves with pending legal proceedings.”

Romero warned against the Rodeo I prison, in the state of Miranda (northern), where “so far there are only men detained for political purposes and there is concern among family members” about the limited access to this penitentiary center.

“Rodeo I was a prison that existed, but I want to make it clear that they are not the same facilities, it looks like a facility built for people incarcerated for political purposes,” Romero explained.

For his part, the vice president of the Criminal Forum, Gonzalo Himiob, warned of the risks that – in his opinion – entails the bill against fascism, neo-fascism and similar expressions, prepared by order of the head of state, Nicolás Maduro , and presented last Tuesday before the National Assembly.

Among the “protection measures against fascism”, Executive Vice President Delcy Rodríguez highlighted the ban on “dissemination of messages that justify or promote violence as a method of political action”.

Himiob said that the bill is not on the National Assembly (AN) website “for making technical comments”, but that the only information available “is that leaked through the media”, and called on the NA to publish the document, “so that citizens know what they are discussing in a true way”.

Meanwhile, there is growing fear of further politically motivated arrests between now and the presidential elections, in which Maduro is seeking a new mandate.

Days ago, opposition leader María Corina Machado, the current president’s main rival but politically disqualified, warned this week that she runs the risk of being detained “unjustifiably” while Parliament is debating a law “against fascism” that aims to the opposition.

“My teams across the country risk future enforced disappearances and I myself could be subject to unjustified detention,” he warned in text published on his social networks.

Machado won the opposition majority primary to be the presidential candidate on July 28, but a 15-year ban on holding public office, which she rejects, prevented her from registering in the process.

Her replacement, academic Corina Yoris, was also unable to register, which sparked criticism from allied governments such as Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, which called for transparency in the elections and the possibility for all candidates who wish to present themselves so that Venezuelans can choose freely.

Source: EFE