The Committee for the Freedom of Political Prisoners (Clippve) and the organization Justice, Encounter and Forgiveness (JEP) warned this Thursday about a serious alteration of the internal order in the El Rodeo I Detention Center, Miranda state, which compromises the safety of the political prisoners held there.
According to the NGOs, the inmates have communicated by echo from the hill adjacent to the prison, during the night of April 8, when relatives went up the hill for regular contact. The political prisoners reported that a peaceful protest by prisoners of foreign origin ended up being repressed with the confiscation of the few belongings they owned, objects that they had received from Venezuelan political prisoners.
They also denounced the unofficial death of a foreign citizen inside the center and the authorities’ refusal to provide information about it.
Josnar Baduel and other detainees suffered fainting, a situation that coincides with previous complaints about poor nutrition, insufficient hydration and mistreatment.
Justicia, Encuentro y Perdón expressed deep concern about the testimonies of relatives in the vicinity of the prison, who reported cries for help warning about injured people, with emphasis on foreign citizens and the political prisoner Josnar Baduel.
The entity demanded that the Venezuelan State comply with article 46 of the Constitution and the Nelson Mandela Rules, and demanded the immediate restoration of communication channels, access to independent supervisory bodies and urgent medical assistance to the injured.
Both organizations agreed that women over 60 with health problems remain locked up with no news of release. The political prisoners also warned about a possible transfer of Baduel, whose family did not receive official notification.
Baduel presents a critical health condition that requires urgent surgical interventions.
The inmates described the center as a space where constitutional guarantees, due process, and diplomatic human rights laws are systematically violated. The political prisoners demanded the immediate application of a real Amnesty Law that allows family reunification and peace in the country. They also questioned government requests to lift sanctions while the rule of law is not guaranteed.
Clippve demanded an immediate investigation of the events, humanitarian access by the Red Cross and urgent intervention by the competent agencies. “These cases do not require new laws, but rather that they be reviewed directly, because many of them are flawed from their origin,” the Committee stated.
