Four journalists arrested during the riots that followed the disputed presidential election of July 28 in Venezuela have been charged with “terrorism”. The complaint he arrives from the National Union of Press Workers (SNTP), the local association for the protection of the press, according to which the arrested journalists did not even have the opportunity to choose their own lawyers.
In total, according to the Venezuelan union, nine journalists were arrested in a few days, including a reporter, who were working in various locations around the country at the time of their arrest. According to official data released by the government in Caracas, at least 2,400 people have been arrested in Venezuela since the beginning of the unrest, which resulted in the death of two National Guard officers.
“We denounce the illegal and arbitrary use of anti-terrorism laws in Venezuela, especially against journalists detained during the post-election protests in the country,” reads a note released on social media last night in Italy by the SNTP. Among those arrested, according to the union, photographers Yousner Alvarado and Deisy Pena, cameraman Paul Leon and journalist José Gregorio Carneiro were accused of terrorism. “In all cases, the use of private defense was refused,” the press protection association emphasizes.
Furthermore, according to a complaint of the NGO Aula Abierta, “among the repressive measures implemented, there is the arbitrary withdrawal of passports, a measure used as a tool of persecution against opposition politicians, critical academics, activists and human rights defenders, which recalls the repressive tactics observed in other authoritarian regimes, particularly in Nicaragua, representing a serious violation of human rights and international norms that guarantee freedom of movement, the right to identification, including the right to nationality”.
“The withdrawal of passports as a form of political repression not only limits the ability of those affected to travel and participate in international academic activities, but also serves as a means to silence dissent by not allowing them to identify themselves, in violation of their human rights,” continues the note. “The actions of the Maduro government in relation to passport restrictions must be seen as part of a broader plan of retaliation against those who criticize or challenge the established power.”
According to the NGOs Provea and Human Rights Watch, this is further confirmation of the repression carried out by the current Government of Caracas which, following the elections, has caused at least 24 deaths. But the riots following the proclamation of victory by outgoing President Nicolas Maduro, who claims to have been re-elected for a third term, they also provoked an international crisis.
Among those arrested by the police loyal to Maduro are in fact several opposition leaders, including the journalist Roland Carreno, an activist of the Voluntad Popular party, while the Prosecutor’s Office has opened a criminal investigation against the opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia and the dissident leader Maria Corina Machado, whose arrest the president is asking because they claim to have obtained the victory in the presidential elections. A result recognized by the United States, while the European Union has asked the competent electoral bodies to publish all documents relating to the consultations, which according to Brussels “did not respect international standards”.
On August 2, the National Electoral Council ratified Maduro’s victory with 52 percent of the vote, but did not make public all the minutes of the polling stations, claiming that it had been the victim of a cyber attack. However, according to the opposition, which published the minutes obtained thanks to its own scrutineers – the validity of which was questioned by Maduro supporters – Gonzalez Urrutia won the elections with 67 percent of the preferences.
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