The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) He demanded the Venezuelan government’s immediate release of the members and former officials of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) and of organizations police detained for political reasons.
Through a statement, they rejected the prosecution of these citizens in the military criminal jurisdiction and expressed their support for the families who demand information about their whereabouts.
According to the records of the organization Justicia, Encuentro y Perdón (JEP), the number of FANB troops and security forces imprisoned For political reasons it reached 196 cases as of September 20.
The report states that 165 of them remained in active service at the time of arrest and 31 were retired. Likewise, the list includes eight women and 14 people with extremely serious health conditions.
For its part, the NGO Foro Penal counted 144 soldiers among a total of 344 deprived of liberty as of September 14, disparity that the IACHR attributes to the balance methods of each entity compared to the absence of institutional figures.
The organization indicated that on August 18, the authorities released five officers held in the Ramo Verde prison, according to data from the Coalition for Human Rights and Democracy; However, the courts They keep their files open and issued precautionary measures that require periodic presentations, prohibit leaving the national territory and restrict statements to the press.
The arrests mainly affect personnel assigned to the Dgcim, Sebin, GOES, FAES and the different components of the FANB. Civil society reports They point out that the prosecution most frequently charges the crimes of conspiracy and civil rebellion.
The assigned detention centers They cover common military and penal units, among them the National Anti-Drug Command of the National Guard, Ramo Verde, Fuerte Guaicaipuro, El Rodeo I, Yare II and Tocorón.
Complaints about deaths and situation of inmates
The IACHR took note “with extreme concern” of complaints of deaths in custody and incompatible conditions with human dignity. JEP statistics record deaths in custody of the State of four members of the FANB and two former police agents, while the Penal Forum reports four deaths that occurred among officials of the Dgcim and Sebin.
Relatives maintain that prisoners suffer prolonged isolation, severe restrictions on visits, overcrowding in small cells without ventilation and the systematic denial of medical care.
Given this panorama, The entity recalled that the authorities have a “reinforced duty” to guarantee the life and integrity of prisonersensure access to trusted lawyers and allow independent inspection of cells when custody It remains under the same intelligence bodies that carried out the arrests.
The organization emphasized that since 2019 issued precautionary measures for all the people detained at the main headquarters of the Dgcim, To date, there have been 20 protection resolutions granted to soldiers deprived of liberty.
