This is how Lilian Tintori advises the families of political prisoners on the tortuous path to freedom

On the other side of the screen, the one who speaks, after leaving the hearing room, is Carolina Ribera, Áñez’s daughter, who for two years has been receiving advice from Tintori and his team – Antonieta Mendoza, mother of Leopoldo López ; Berta Vallewife of the former Nicaraguan political prisoner, Felix Maradiaga; and Silvia Popoli, who coordinates the sessions. During this time, his work has been to guide Carolina along the path that both Lilian, Antonieta and Berta took before, that of achieving the release of a family member imprisoned by the autocracies of Nicolas Maduro and Daniel Ortegarespectively.

Tintori and Mendoza did it with little knowledge of the precise steps to follow, but they learned during the seven years of Leopoldo López’s captivity. Now they have decided to share this knowledge with families of political prisoners around the world through the manual ‘Road to Freedom’, edited by the World Liberty Congress organization and presented a few days ago in Madrid. An instrument that Tintori, Mendoza and Valle are already implementing with families from several countries –Cambodia, South Sudan, China, Azerbaijan, Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Bolivia–.

Today’s session with Carolina Ribera – in which ABC was able to be present – ​​has been urgently arranged due to the trial of former President Áñez, and after I called her scheduled for this day (last Thursday) with a Cuban mother , who has one of his sons imprisoned for the 11-J protestscould not occur due to a blackout. After the initial greetings, Tintori asks Ribera about the conditions under which his mother’s trial is taking place, whether it is open to the public or not; if they have allowed more family members access to the room, about how the transfer from prison was… Áñez’s daughter explains that “they took them out earlier so that we could not accompany them”; He also shares some legal details of the hearing, which Silvia takes note of in a notebook. They encourage Carolina to “visualize” everything that happens in the room, who is there and what is happening, to report possible irregularities. While Carolina speaks, armed police officers can be seen passing behind her. Lilian puts her hand over her mouth. Áñez’s daughter explains that the building is guarded by many agents on each floor, and the press is outside the building.

Make visible and communicate

These sessions not only remove the family member seeking advice, but also those who offer it. “It’s like déjà vu,” confesses Antonieta, who remembers that the hearings against her son Leopoldo “lasted a year and a half and followed an exactly the same pattern” as that of Áñez. “And the police carried long weapons,” he emphasizes.

Communication is not good and is cut off. Lilian, Berta (who participates in the session virtually from Miami since the Ortega regime also stripped her of her nationality and she still cannot leave the US) and Antonieta are interested in Jeanine Áñez’s state of mind. : “It’s very strong,” says Carolina. The sound cuts off again. You have to go from the computer to WhatsApp, from the video call to just the sound, but the spirit does not decrease on either side.

“What do the lawyers tell you?”: “They see it as complicated,” he responds. “How do the officials treat you?” they ask. “Well, they’re nice.” They also congratulate her for her handling of social networks in which hours before she posted an image of her mother, handcuffed, on the way to court. In the accompanying text, Carolina is “proud” of the former president of Bolivia.

Communication is one of the most important chapters of the manual, which is divided into four blocks: understanding detention for political reasons, release strategy, what family members should do; communication, who assumes the role of spokesperson; and navigating a national and international legal system.

One of the most important decisions, and also perhaps the most difficult, is to make the case visible. “It is an essential condition to participate in these sessions that there is a spokesperson and that he or she be a relative of the political prisoner,” says Antonieta. The tone of the communication is decisive: “It must be neutral”; as well as the use of a single photo that “must inspire innocence and dignity,” in the face of the distortion and criminalization of political prisoners by dictatorial regimes.

Unlike the help provided by other NGOs to the families of political prisoners, Tintori’s team, in addition to legal support, “offers empathy because we are concerned about the well-being of the family member,” says Berta Valle, who suffered from Miami. her husband’s imprisonment when he was a pre-candidate for the Presidency of Nicaragua, and the subsequent trial in the El Chipote prison itself. “We want them to feel accompanied and empowered.”

The sessions, always personalized, last one hour. In recent weeks, Tintori’s team has been more active than usual after mass arrests in Venezuela as a consequence of the electoral fraud on July 28. “In total four sessions,” says Lilian, for whom helping the relatives of political prisoners, as she once was, has become the “purpose” of her life. Also for Berta: «After a traumatic process we find a purpose: to teach what we have learned. We can help others so that the path to freedom is clearer. “We were victims of an oppressive regime and we have become human rights activists.” They are the germ of what aspires to become “a network of solidarity of people who raise their voices against misinformation. “It has been a transformative path,” he emphasizes.

Antonieta, Lilian and Berta conclude the connection with Áñez’s daughter by encouraging her: «Fuerza Carolina. We love you, until freedom! », they say goodbye until the next session.