By South China Morning Post | Created at 2024-11-17 01:46:10 | Updated at 2024-11-23 01:54:10
6 days ago
More than 100 people detained during protests over Venezuela’s disputed presidential election in July were freed on Saturday, according to local rights group Foro Penal which tallied the releases across four prisons.
“Up to now we have verified 107 political prisoners, due to the post-electoral situation, released in Venezuela,” the group’s director, Alfredo Romero, said on social media.
The prosecutor’s office and communications ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
According to Foro Penal, at least 1,800 people were arrested after the presidential election on July 28, which kept President Nicolas Maduro in power despite heavily contested results. Maduro took office in 2013 and is set to begin his next six-year term in January.
The rights group monitored the releases at four prisons in central Venezuela, including at least 50 young adults from Tocoron prison, Romero said.
A video he posted showed some of them walking along a highway outside the prison, to cheers and applause from a group of onlookers.
