The Portuguese Foreign Minister, Paulo Rangel, reported that four compatriots They remain imprisoned in Venezuela for political reasons, one of them under house arrest.
“They are more complex issues because many times the accusations are of a common crime and, being accusations of a common crime, Although they are instrumentalized for political reasons, they are more difficult than those that are specifically political“he stated in a parliamentary hearing this Thursday.
“But we are convinced that in these four cases they are political (reasons),” said the head of Portuguese diplomacy.
The Foreign Minister assured that the Portuguese authorities “continue to monitor” the situation and hope to make progress with the next mission to Venezuela.
The NGO Foro Penal, dedicated to the defense of political prisoners in Venezuela, said that at the beginning of October there were 322 detainees in the country, 31 of whom were foreigners or had dual nationality.
The government of Venezuela denies that there are political prisoners in the country and assures that they are people detained for committing crimes, a statement that several non-governmental organizations and opposition political parties reject.
