Alfredo Romero, the head of the Foro Penal Venezolano [Venezuelan Penal Forum, FPV] announced through Twitter today that representatives from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) visited Venezuela yesterday and met with several political prisoners. Romero said that the OHCHR team traveled to the Ramo Verde military prison outside of Caracas to speak to inmates there.
The OHCHR visit is the first since July, when High Commissioner for Human Rights Michele Bachelet published a damming report highlighting some of the Maduro regime’s numerous abuses against the Venezuelan people. In the report, Bachelet included evidence of the systematic use of torture against political dissidents, mass arbitrary arrests, as well as the use of social programs to monitor political activity.
In one of his tweets, Romero said that the team met with at least five political prisoners. He also said that the OHCHR will issue an update to its July report on Monday.
The FPV is a Venezuelan NGO that provides pro-bono legal services to political prisoners and other victims of regime repression.
IACHR Expresses “Concern” Over Raids on Home of Human Rights Lawyer, Relatives
The Inter-American Court for Human Rights expressed “concern” in a tweet over police raids on the home of Tamara Suju, a prominent human rights lawyer, and that of his brothers. The raids took place yesterday.
Below, the tweet from the CIDH:
The [IACHR] expresses concern over the repressive operations targeting representatives of civil society organizations in Venezuela like [Tamara Suju]. We call on the [Venezuelan government] to meet its obligations of due process and respect for the work of human rights defenders.
Suju is a leading voice on the human rights crisis in Venezuela on the international stage. She has not lived in Venezuela for the past five years.
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