NGO Foro Penal denounces that there are 261 political prisoners in Venezuela

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Venezuelan NGO Foro Penal denounced this Tuesday (14) that there are 261 detainees in the country whom it considers political prisoners, one fewer than those reported last September 6.

“There are 261 political prisoners in Venezuela, according to this week’s updated list of the Penal Forum, sent to the secretary-general of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights for verification and certification,” wrote on Twitter the president of the NGO, Alfredo Romero.

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Romero detailed that among the detainees, there were 246 men and 15 women.

Of the 261 that Foro Penal considers political prisoners, 129 are civilians and 132 military. The organization detailed that, since 2014, “15,743 political detentions have been registered in Venezuela.

“The Penal Forum has provided free assistance to more than 12,000 detainees, today released from prison and other victims of human rights violations. In addition to political prisoners, more than 9,000 people are still subject, arbitrarily, to measures restricting their freedom,” they emphasized in their message.

On September 6, the organization reported that 42 of the 262 citizens considered political prisoners held in various detention centers were “in a critical health situation”.

“We want to warn, as we have done on several occasions before the death of people, that there are serious situations in the health of significant political prisoners at this moment,” said Romero in a press conference.

Last August 29, the NGO confirmed the death of Gabriel Medina Díaz, 39 years old, one of the so-called “political prisoners”, after suffering a respiratory arrest due to “the lack of medical attention he needed”, as pointed out by the organization’s vice-president, Gonzalo Himiob.