Amnesty International and two human rights organizations in Caracas, Foro Penal and the Centro para los Defensores y la Justicia (CDJ), released a survey this Thursday (10) that shows that arbitrary arrests in Venezuela are being based on attacks. coordinated campaigns and public stigmatization campaigns broadcast by the media supporting dictator Nicolás Maduro.
According to Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International, this correlation is “a new indicator of a systematic policy of repression” and could constitute a crime against humanity of persecution, to be investigated by the international justice system.
The study covered records between January 2019 and June 2021. The survey revealed that 29% of people who were victims of attacks in the pro-Maduro media were arbitrarily arrested for political reasons in 2019, a figure that in 2020 increased to 42% and in the first half of the year. of 2021 reached 77%.
This correlation reached 94% between January 2019 and June 2021 among people stigmatized by the television program “Con El Mazo Dando”, presented by the second main leader of Chavismo, Diosdado Cabello.
“From the highest levels of the State, the system was designed to discredit, accuse, threaten and target those who defend, promote and demand respect for human rights, through public statements, the media and social, personal and institutional networks. ”, commented Marianna Romero, director general of the CDJ.
“This research clearly shows how this stigmatization is based on the logic that there is an enemy within. [do país] and results in manifestations of acts of violence and persecution by the State,” he added.
The authors of the study urge the prosecution of the International Criminal Court to investigate these cases as part of the court case filed against Venezuela last year for crimes against humanity.
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