CARACAS.- The NGO Peace Laboratory reported that until June 17 they have occurred in Venezuela 46 arbitrary arrests, of which 37 were for political reasons and nine for exercising the right to freedom of expression, and warned that these could “increase exponentially” starting on July 4 when the election campaign facing the presidential elections on July 28.
Of the 37 people detained for political reasons, 16 are linked to the Vente Venezuela party, of the opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado; Likewise, two people are linked to the Voluntad Popular party, led by Leopoldo López; and one to the Primero Justicia party. In addition, one person is a human rights defender, one is a social leader, three are union members, six provided goods and services to the candidate’s campaign. Edmundo González Urrutia and six were detained because they were relatives of the previous ones. A person has no relationship with any political formation, but was arrested for recording images of the regime’s ally Alex Saab, the NGO reported in a report published on its website.
The document mentioned that the Bolivarian Intelligence Service (Sebin) took part in 21 of the reported arbitrary detentions. Other security forces that appear behind these actions are the Bolivarian National Guard, in three cases; the Bolivarian National Police, in two cases; and the state police, in two cases. In nine cases the police force that made the arrest could not be identified.
Forced disappearences
The Peace Laboratory made special mention in its report that in the context of the arbitrary arrests It is recurrent that the authorities deny the situation of deprivation of liberty of the detainee or the place of confinement or the security body that is in custody of the detainee is not revealed.
In that sense, the NGO warned that “as stated by the United Nations Working Group on Forced or Involuntary Disappearances, recently in a statement about Venezuela” these “prolonged and incommunicado detentions are equivalent to forced disappearances.”
“They seem to follow a pattern according to which people are deprived of their liberty by state authorities, taken to recognized detention centers and there deprived of their fundamental rights such as contact with the outside world and access to legal assistance,” he indicated. the NGO.
He added that detainees are denied the assistance of a trusted lawyer and must instead accept a public defender.
He highlighted that in the period in which the arbitrary detentions were recorded, there was a case of a person who reported that during the time he was held incommunicado he was a victim of cruel and degrading treatment with the aim of recording a video in which involved people from his political organization in alleged crimes.
The NGO pointed out that among the crimes for which these people are accused are instigation of hatred, terrorism and conspiracy.
Hinder opposition campaign
For the Peace Laboratory, these violations and abuses occur in the pre-electoral context and are accompanied by other violations of the rights to freedom of association and assembly, peaceful demonstration, and freedom of expression and information.
The report highlights that “there is an unwritten prohibition by the National Telecommunications Commission (Conatel) to the country’s television and radio media from interviewing the candidate Edmundo González, María Corina Machado or any spokesperson for the Vente Venezuela party.”
The Peace Laboratory considers that these arbitrary arrests “are part” of a strategy of the regime to “hinder the campaign of candidate Edmundo González” for which it uses two tactics: erode the legitimacy of his candidacy, through criminalization and discredit for justify any administrative sanction against you; and prevent the effectiveness of their campaign, through the deprivation of liberty of people who play key roles in the campaign (logistics, communications, supply of goods and services).
Finally, the NGO warned that “patterns of human rights violations could increase and worsen” starting next July 4, the start date of the electoral campaign, for which it called on the international community, including countries such as Brazil and Colombia, to carry out all the necessary diplomatic initiatives to guarantee the electoral rights of Venezuelans.
Source: REDACCIÓN / labpaz.org
