Former Venezuelan Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Ruperto Sanchez, considered a political prisoner by several human rights organizations, was finally released on Thursday (17) after spending seven years in prison on charges of military mutiny. The release was announced by Foro Penal, a Venezuelan non-governmental organization that has been helping people arbitrarily detained by the Chávez dictatorship for nearly 20 years.

The release of a soldier who also holds Spanish citizenship must: according to the organization, which happened in July last year, but only materialized after pressure and accusations. When he was released, he was finally able to hug his wife and daughter.

Stories like that of Sanchez have sadly become commonplace in Venezuela by Nicolas Maduro. According to the NGO Foro Penal, there are currently 301 political prisoners in the country. However, since 2014, the dictatorship has arbitrarily detained 15,743 people for political reasons. Alfredo Romero, director of the NGO, explained People’s Bulletin that these arrests need to be constantly monitored and updated due to the revolving door effect of political prisons in the country.

let one go, hold the other

“The number of political prisoners in a week may be the same as a week earlier, but other people are arrested and released,” Romero said. These comings and goings are intended to intimidate the population and also allow the regime to always use political prisoners as a bargaining chip for negotiating with the opposition and international actors.

“Arrests always happen, almost weekly, to keep this intimidation flowing smoothly. But as some are released, others are arrested. For example, last week was released Carlos Roja, who was in prison for almost four years, but other people were arrested for various reasons, ”he said.

According to Romero, part of the opposition is also using the position of political prisoners to gain an advantage in the same game as Nicolas Maduro. For example, last year his opponent, Enrique Capriles, announced the release of more than 100 political prisoners, whom Romero said were actually 50, after negotiations with the dictator ahead of the parliamentary elections.

“Specific moments are used to show that they release political prisoners and thus receive certain political benefits – either from the government or from the opposition. The government is arresting people to use them later as a bargaining chip to ease international pressure that would be in place today, or to ease national pressure. And on the side of the opposition, they sit down to negotiate [com o regime] and they include political prisoners who do not know and even make mistakes in the lists, just to gain political gain and to be able to participate in negotiations or dialogues with the government. ”

Who are political prisoners in Venezuela

According to Romero, two opposition political leaders are currently being detained: journalist Roland Carreño, associated with the Voluntad Popular party, and Gilberto Sojo, also the leader of the party. The overwhelming majority of political prisoners in Venezuela are citizens who do not belong to any party, but who at some point criticized the Venezuelan dictatorship: indigenous people are in prisons, unions in the oil industry and education, soldiers accused of the uprising, residents who participated in protests against the regime. The goal of the Chávez government in arresting these people, who are mostly not affiliated with opposition political parties, is to intimidate the population in order to avoid protests, reducing the chances of opposition backlash.

There are also people who are being arrested so you can find the information you need or force people to surrender. “There is a case of a woman named Maria Auxiliadora Delgado Taboski, who is the sister of Osman Delgado Taboski, who is wanted on charges of participating in the assassination attempt on President Nicolas Maduro. They detained her and her husband, they have been in prison for almost three years, without trial, without trial, ”Romero said.

Precarious conditions and the right to protection

He also said that of the more than 15,000 people arbitrarily arrested in Venezuela over the past seven years, less than 1% have never been convicted. Many of them have been imprisoned for lengthy terms, up to seven years, without trial, and when they are released, no procedures take place in the same way, because their release is nothing more than a political decision.

“There is, for example, the case of Antonio Garbi, who was detained in 2014 for participating in a protest rally and accused of murder, which allegedly took place during the protest rallies. He did not commit murders, he has been in prison for seven years, and the trial has not even begun, ”the director of the criminal court said, adding that when the courts do not initiate a case, political prisoners have no right to defense. …

“A little more than 10% of the current 301 political prisoners have been convicted. All the rest were not convicted, and the overwhelming majority did not even go to court, ”he said.

The situation got worse during the pandemic as the health crisis was used as an excuse to deny lawyers access to prisoners. Reception of lawyers and family members in detention centers was closed, which delayed the possibility of granting the right to defense.

Prison conditions are also a major concern of human rights organizations. According to Romero, they do not correspond to the basic conditions of keeping people in seclusion. “Many are sick, in serious condition without medical assistance.”

IN Interview with Spanish newspaper ABCCurling Rodriguez, wife of Ruperto Sánchez, a soldier released this week, said her husband was sent to a “punishment cell” at the Ramo Verde Correctional Facility with 20 other inmates, where they spent 17 days in appalling conditions.

“It was inhuman. There was a restroom for everyone. The feces are full. They had to wash in this cell, and I think they even had to eat there (…) Currently, in Ramo Verde, inmates sleep on the floor, and sanitary conditions have deteriorated in recent years, ”said the wife in early June. …

Finally, Romero warned that arrests were ongoing and that international pressure was important to free political prisoners, as was the case with Sanchez’s release.