AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: URGENT ACTION-JAILED OPPOSITION LEADERS’ PRISON CELLS RAIDED

Further information on UA: 33/14 Index: AMR 53/016/2015 Venezuela Date: 16 February 2015

JAILED OPPOSITION LEADERS’ PRISON CELLS RAIDED

The cells of imprisoned opposition leaders Leopoldo López and Daniel Ceballos have been raided in what appears to be an act of intimidation. Both men have been arbitrarily detained since February and March 2014, respectively, in relation to the wave of protests that swept the country. They must be immediately released.

In the early hours of 13 February, prison personnel raided Leopoldo López and Daniel Ceballos’s cells and tore some of their personal belongings, such as photos and documents. It is not clear why the raid was organized. According to the men’s families, the prison personnel first tried to enter their cells but the men locked themselves inside with iron bars. They reported that twenty armed men then returned and used a blowtorch to enter. Both Leopoldo López and Daniel Ceballos are held in CENAPROMIL (Centro Nacional de Procesados Militares), a military prison in Los Teques, on the outskirts of the capital, Caracas, while they are being tried in relation to the anti-government protests that swept the country between February and July 2014.

Leopoldo Lopez screams for freedom from his Venezuelan prison cell

www.nyulocal.com October 29, 2014 

Last Saturday, Venezuelan political prisoner Leopoldo Lopez used the only thing he had, his voice and ideas, to communicate with his Venezuelan supporters. 

“We are not only protesting because of the injustices we suffer in this prison, but we are also doing it for all Venezuelans, whose human, social, economic and political rights are violated everyday,” the Harvard-educated politician yelled from his prison window to a crowd of supporters before alarms went off drowning the sound of his voice. In a shocking scene captured in video, Lopez once again asserted his dedication to what he called an “urgent change in the country,” and asked Venezuelans to not tremble in their search for freedom. 

Lopez has been held in a military prison on the outskirts of Caracas for more than nine months, without a trial, and in isolation. Even when the United Nations called for his release earlier this month, just a few days after Nicolas Maduros’ government obtained a two year term as one of the chairs of the Security Council. 

Hours before his pronouncement, officials told Lopez’s attorney that he would be transferred to a maximum-security prison as punishment for a protest that he and other political prisoners have been engaging in as a response to what they called the violation of their human rights. 

According to an October 24 written statement signed by Lopez and three other political prisoners, they have been completely isolated for seven months, with no visitations aside from family, and deprived of fresh air and sunlight. The document stated that the prisoner’s treatment has gotten worse after international support of the UN’s call for their freedom. The statement also announced that as part of their protest, Lopez and other political prisoners would make noise using the prison bars that jail them every night at 8 p.m. They called this movement “El Barrotazo,” and encouraged all Venezuelans to join them in making noise using the bars in their windows, which most Venezuelan homes have in order to keep safe from the high crime rate. 

Lopez and four student activists were imprisoned in February after President Nicolas Maduro blamed him for inciting the violent events that left at least 40 people dead during student protests earlier that month. 

Maduro has used political persecution as a key resource to maintain power, just like Chavez. According to the US Department of Homeland Security, between 2001 and 2010, at least 1,500 Venezuelans requested political asylum. In the past eleven years, the approved Venezuelan political asylums have increased by a staggering 1,156 percent, with many journalists and politicians citing prosecution and threats to their lives for voicing opposition to the government. 

Venezuelans who aren’t involved in politics often simply cite the country’s murder and kidnapping rates as a reason for their need for refuge in the United States. So many are fleeing the country that the Florida cities of Doral and Weston are now known as being highly populated by Venezuelans, with people often referring to them as “Westonzuela” and “Doralzuela.”

UN Human Rights Chief urges Venezuela to release arbitrarily detained protestors and politicians

GENEVA (20 October 2014) -- The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, expressed serious concern on Monday at the continued detention of Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López, as well as more than 69 other people who were arrested in the context of public protests that took place across Venezuela over several months starting in February this year.

"The prolonged and arbitrary detention of political opponents and protestors in Venezuela is causing more and more concern internationally," High Commissioner Zeid said. "It is only exacerbating the tensions in the country." 

According to information received by the UN Human Rights Office, over 3,300 people, including minors, were detained for brief periods between February and June, and more than 150 cases of ill-treatment, many of them torture, were reported. At least 43 people were killed during the protests, including one public prosecutor and nine members of the security forces. Journalists and human rights defenders have also reported threats, attacks and intimidation. 

Last month, the Working Group on arbitrary detention stated its opinion that the detention of Leopoldo López, as well as that of former mayor of San Cristobal Daniel Ceballos, was arbitrary. 

Venezuela / Demonstrations: UN experts ask for clarification on alleged arbitrary detentions and use of violence

UN Human Rights/ Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

http://www.ohchr.org

Geneva, 6 March 2014  

A group of United Nations independent experts* have asked the Government of Venezuela for prompt clarification of allegations of arbitrary detention and excessive use of force and violence against protesters, journalists and media workers during the recent wave of protests in the country. 

“The recent violence amid protests in Venezuela need to be urgently and thoroughly investigated, and perpetrators must be held accountable,” the experts stressed. They also expressed their shock at the reported deaths of at least 17 persons during the demonstrations.

“We are deeply disturbed by the allegations of multiple cases of arbitrary detention of protesters. Some were reportedly beaten -and in some cases severely tortured- by security forces, taken to military facilities, kept in incommunicado detention, and denied access to legal assistance,” they said. “These reports need to be urgently clarified and anyone who remains arbitrarily detained should be released without condition.”

The independent experts also drew attention to reports of violence against journalists and media workers monitoring and reporting on demonstrations in Venezuela: “Ensuring full protection to journalists and media workers covering the difficult period experienced by the country today is crucial.”