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Venezuelan NGO urges government and opposition to put political prisoners on dialogue agenda
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Elections & Politics

Venezuelan NGO urges government and opposition to put political prisoners on dialogue agenda

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Named sources Ongoing story
  • The Committee for the Freedom of Political Prisoners urged Venezuelan government and opposition delegates to address political prisoners when dialogue resumes in mid-September.
  • The group says it records at least 400 political prisoners, including 37 with serious medical conditions, while another rights organization lists 328.
  • The government denies that Venezuela holds political prisoners and says those detained committed crimes, a claim rejected by opposition parties and human rights groups.

A Venezuelan rights group wants the next round of political dialogue to begin with an issue left out of the first cycle: the country’s political prisoners. The Committee for the Freedom of Political Prisoners, known as CLIPP, called on government and opposition delegations to include the detainees when talks resume in mid-September.

“Starting a second cycle, agreements must produce concrete results. Rebuilding trust requires commitments that are honored and guarantees that no one will again be persecuted or imprisoned for exercising their rights,” the organization said in a statement.

Government and opposition representatives concluded the first cycle on Aug. 12 with two agreements. One called for a complete renewal of the Supreme Court, whose judges critics accuse of serving the government. The other concerned the recovery of international reserve assets held at the Bank of England, for assistance to victims of the double earthquake in June.

CLIPP said political prisoners did not appear on that agenda. It called for the commitments already discussed to address people it describes as victims of arbitrary detention for political reasons, as well as their families. The organization says it has registered at least 400 political prisoners and that 37 have serious illnesses requiring sustained medical care that, in most cases, they do not receive adequately. It also cited complaints from relatives about inhumane conditions at Yare I, Fuerte Guaicaipuro, El Rodeo I and police facilities in Miranda state.

CLIPP requested a meeting with both delegations and representatives of families and victims. Another group, the Alliance for the Freedom of Political Prisoners, separately urged Venezuela’s prison minister, Julio García Zerpa, to address alleged irregularities, including poor food and health care. Foro Penal reported 328 political prisoners as of Aug. 31, including 317 men and 11 women. The government, led by Delcy Rodríguez, rejects the political-prisoner designation.

Starting a second cycle, agreements must produce concrete results. Rebuilding trust requires commitments that are honored and guarantees that no one will again be persecuted or imprisoned for exercising their rights.

— Committee for the Freedom of Political PrisonersThe NGO called for concrete guarantees and results in the next phase of Venezuela’s dialogue.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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