Foro Penal Reports 379 Political Prisoners in Venezuela, Citing 14 New Cases

The Venezuelan human rights organization Foro Penal has reported a total of 379 political prisoners in the country as of July 27. This figure includes 14 individuals added to their registry in the last week, while three were released during the same period.

The organization's latest report indicates that out of the 379 detainees, 157 have already been convicted, and 222 are still awaiting trial. The majority of those detained are men, with 353, compared to 26 women. Foro Penal also noted that 219 are civilians and 160 are military personnel. Additionally, 40 of the documented cases involve individuals with foreign nationalities.

Adding to the concern, Foro Penal stated that the whereabouts of one detainee are currently unknown. Since 2014, the NGO has documented over 19,000 politically motivated arrests in Venezuela. While they have assisted in the release of more than 14,000 people, over 11,000 remain subject to restrictive freedom measures.

This updated tally comes shortly after a joint declaration by families of political prisoners and various national and international human rights organizations. They are demanding the immediate release of all individuals detained for political reasons, framing it as a humanitarian response to the country's severe emergency. The groups also implored authorities to permit independent international organizations access to detention facilities to verify the conditions of inmates, especially after recent earthquakes potentially affected infrastructure.