More than 700 people arrested during protests that erupted after Venezuela’s disputed presidential election have been moved to maximum-security prisons. File | Photo credit: Reuters
During this period more than 700 people were arrested. Protests erupt after Venezuela’s disputed presidential election More than 100 prisoners have been transferred to maximum security prisons, a human rights group said on Saturday, August 31, 2024.
The detainees, who were being held in police stations across the country, were transferred last week to two notorious prisons that were previously under the control of gangs, the Venezuela Prison Observatory reported.
“In many cases, the transfers were carried out under questionable circumstances, and detainees’ relatives were not informed of the transfers to Tokuyito and Tokoron prisons,” the group said.
“Several irregularities were committed,” the NGO said in a press release.
Over 2,400 people were arrested following the protests President Nicolas Maduro He was declared the winner in the controversial election held on 28 July.
The opposition claims it has won a landslide victory and has voting records as proof of this.
The leftist Maduro government has resisted intense international pressure to release vote tallies to support its claim of victory, rejecting accusations of authoritarianism.
The United States, the European Union, and several Latin American countries have Refused to accept Maduro as the winner Without seeing detailed voting results.
27 people were killed and 192 were injured in the violence during the protests.
Also read: Venezuela opposition accuses Maduro of stealing votes, protests intensify
The Venezuela Prison Observatory said none of the people transferred to maximum-security facilities have been allowed to contact their families or lawyers.
Of the 2,400 detainees, 1,581 are listed as political prisoners by another advocacy group called Penal Forum.
The Dand Manch said there are a total of 114 juveniles and at least 40 of them were released on bail on Saturday. Sixteen were freed from custody on Thursday.
Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said this week that some of those arrested were as young as 13 and were being sent to jail with older, ordinary criminals.
“What they have done is brutal,” he said of the Maduro government.