Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodríguez announced on Friday that he is working on… a broad amnesty scheme for political prisonersinternational news agencies and the Spanish newspaper report El Pais. The settlement aims to end decades of political persecution since socialist President Hugo Chávez came to power in 1999.
“I would like to announce that we have decided to initiate a comprehensive amnesty law covering the entire period of political violence since 1999,” Rodríguez said at a meeting at Venezuela’s Supreme Court. “We are thus offering Venezuela an opportunity to live in peace and tranquility.” She says she has discussed the amnesty scheme with President Nicolás Maduro, who was kidnapped by American troops to New York on January 3.
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Rodríguez also announced that the infamous El Helicoide prison, which symbolizes the repression of the Chavista regime, will be closed and converted into a center for sports and social services.
Hundreds more political prisoners
The amnesty law covers hundreds of people who remain in custody after being arrested for political activities during the Chávez and Maduro governments. Many opposition politicians, journalists and human rights activists have been accused by the Venezuelan regime in recent decades on extremely dubious grounds of crimes such as terrorism and high treason.
The scheme will also apply to former prisoners who have been released conditionally, but are still under supervision and have been given an exit ban or obligation to remain silent. According to Rodríguez, those convicted of murder, drug trafficking and other criminal offenses without a political motive are excluded from the scheme.
Releases
According to the authorities, more than eight hundred people have been released since Maduro’s kidnapping, but human rights organizations say just over three hundred. The announced amnesty goes further than previous releases, as it will also end pending criminal cases.
The bill will be drafted by a committee led by Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and should be debated in parliament in the coming days.
Human rights organizations such as Foro Penal and Provea welcome the announced amnesty law, but demand transparency about who is released under what conditions. Previous amnesties and pardons led to only partial releases and rarely provided full legal redress.
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