In anticipation of the presidential elections scheduled for Sunday July 28, 2024, Amnesty International has condemned the escalating repression that has marked the election period and raised the alarm about the situation in the country over the coming weeks. Ana Piquer, Americas Director at Amnesty International, said:
“In recent years, Venezuela has been through one of the most deplorable periods in its history as regards human rights. The state authorities who have held power since at least 2014 have committed grave and massive human rights violations, including possible crimes against humanity, and have led the country into a complex humanitarian emergency that has pushed more than 25% of the population to flee Venezuela, leaving their homes and families behind. This context of repression, need, and quest for a dignified life is what describes and characterizes the impending presidential election.”
“The months leading up to this election have been marked by incessant attacks on civic space, tens of arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, torture, reprisals against businesses and contractors providing services to opposition figures, and arbitrary and abusive administrative measures. Amid threatening discourse, censorship and persecution, we demand that the authorities guarantee and unequivocally respect the rights of all people in Venezuela on and after this 28 July.”
“We are calling in the strongest possible terms for the immediate and unconditional release of all people arbitrarily detained for political reasons in the country, including Rocío San Miguel, Javier Tarazona and Carlos Julio Rojas. We also demand that there be no further arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances or acts of torture against people who think differently or defend human rights. The government’s policy of repression must end immediately.
Piquer also reiterated that, “in the current context of escalating repression, the ongoing investigation by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court would have competence to investigate the perpetrators of possible detentions, torture, gender-based violence and persecution committed in the context of the elections. All the authorities responsible for these crimes, including the chain of command, may and must be tried in impartial and independent courts of law, with full fair trial guarantees.”
“The international community must support an unconditional commitment to the human rights defenders who are taking on the mammoth task of protecting the most vulnerable people in Venezuela. We also hope that they will continue to direct their attention and demands for action at the Venezuelan authorities, in order to support the efforts of victims, relatives and human rights defenders to achieve truth, justice and reparation for the crimes perpetrated in the country. It is fundamental for such commitments to be demonstrated by renewing the mandates of the UN Fact-finding Mission on Venezuela and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights during the next session of UN Human Rights Council.”
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