The non-governmental organization Alliance for the Freedom of Political Prisoners They mobilized this Thursday to the headquarters of the Palace of Justice in Caracas to demand the adoption of immediate administrative measures and coordination between public powers in order to correct the procedural delay that affects those detained for political reasons in the country.
Representatives of the NGO and relatives of the inmates They delivered a petition addressed to the president of the Criminal Judicial Circuit of the capital, John Parody, in which they request speed in setting hearings and the timely processing of requests for freedom for civilians and military personnel.
Jessica Castro, activist of the group and family member of the detained Gustavo Hernández, denounced that judicial inaction aggravates the conditions of confinement of approximately 60 people who suffer from chronic diseases, severe clinical conditions or disabilities that compromise their physical integrity.
The spokesperson also warned about a pattern of administrative contempt, ensuring that there are between 36 and 40 ballots release issued and signed weeks ago by the competent courts that have not yet been complied with by the authorities of the penitentiary centers.
The latest balance of the NGO Penal Forum indicates that Venezuela has 322 political prisoners, of which 308 are men, 14 women, 182 civilians and 140 members of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB).
This Thursday’s street actions are added to the complaints presented at the beginning of the week by the lawyer Eduardo Torres after the release of union leader Orlando Ramírez, who was irregularly released on a road in the west of the country after spending a month detained and incommunicado for protesting for labor improvements in front of the Ministry of Transportation.
“We request that the difficulties that hinder the timely processing of requests for freedom be institutionally addressed and that urgent actions be taken to attend to political prisoners with serious illnesses that put their lives at risk,” urged activist Jessica Castro at the Palace of Justice.
The document filed before the Judiciary emphasizes the urgency of granting precautionary measures to substitute freedom or humanitarian passes for those deprived of liberty whose health status shows irreversible deterioration.
At the same time, human rights defenders will go before the Attorney General’s Office to file complaints for arbitrary detentions and short forced disappearances, demanding that the chain of command responsible for the non-execution of judicial release orders issued in the capital be investigated.
