2024-09-14 01:31:33
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) said that opposition protests are being severely repressed in Venezuela and that violations of freedom of expression are repeated daily.
A report issued by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) established that Nicolás Maduro’s government implemented “state terrorism practices” in order to repress opposition demonstrations in Venezuela demanding that the authorities make transparent the results of the elections of July 28.
The document, which was presented to the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS), stated that the repression of the Chavista regime against the opposition include the arbitrary arrest and disappearance of protesters.
According to what was stated by the president of the IACHR, Roberta Clarke, in Venezuela “The demonstrations have been harshly repressed (…) in a context of absolute impunity“.
Clarke stated on the occasion that At least 23 people have died due to violence unleashed by police forcesand stated that all the victims died as a result of gunshots during opposition demonstrations.
Besides, More than 1,672 people, most of them young, have been arrested by security forces since July 22, in addition to an undetermined number of forced disappearances.
“Those who are charged with criminal charges experience due process violations“Clarke said as he read the report. “They are not allowed to choose a lawyer but instead are forced upon a public defender and In the case of teenagers, they cannot communicate with their families.“, he explained.
IACHR denounces attacks on freedom of expression in Venezuela
According to the report, since July 28, more than a hundred violations of freedom of expression have occurred, with the arbitrary detention of journalists, closure of media outlets, deportation of reporters from other countries and cancellation of passportsamong other repressive measures.
Roberta Clarke said that these actions “are not only aimed at persecuting specific sectors, but They also generate a climate of fear and intimidation among the Venezuelan population.“.
The international press confirmed that the session of the Permanent Council of the OAS in which the IACHR report was delivered was called at the request of Argentina, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, United States, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic and Uruguay.