MADRID 3 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The UN has called on the Government of Venezuela to guarantee the right of the population to express their opinion and demonstrate “without fear of possible reprisals”, on the eve of reaching next week the date on which the new presidential term begins and without resolutions having been resolved. still the doubts that arose after the presidential elections of July 2024.
The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission has launched “a strong appeal” in view of the theoretical turning point of January 10. Its president, Marta Valiñas, has urged the security forces to “behave with the strictest international standards regarding the use of force”, after more than 2,400 people were detained during the post-election mobilizations.
The Public Ministry has assured that more than 1,300 of these detainees are now free, but the NGO Foro Penal estimates that in Venezuela’s prisons there are still more than 1,800 prisoners held for political reasons.
“All conduct that violates rights must be investigated promptly, exhaustively and impartially and judged by independent courts with full respect for due process,” said Valiñas. Another member of the mission, Francisco Cox, has pointed out that both those who order “arbitrary” detentions and “torture” and those who carry them out are individually criminally “responsible.”
Cox has warned in a statement that, in Venezuela, “the repressive apparatus remains fully operational”, which is why his team has once again demanded the release of all people arbitrarily arrested and respect for social dissidence and policy.
In this sense, the expert Patricia Tappatá has pointed out that “the persecution of opposition people or those who the Government considers as such, not only has not stopped, but has taken the form of a systematic attack on the freedom of those who think differently.” “.
The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, claims his right to take possession of a new mandate on January 10, despite the fact that the official bodies, controlled by Chavismo, have not published the minutes that prove his supposed victory. The main opposition candidate, Edmundo González, exiled in Spain, argues that he is the one who should assume power and has even promised to return to Venezuela.