Politics Dozens of detainees released after protests against election in Venezuela

Dozens of people have been released in Venezuela who were arrested in July during protests against the presidential election, which was accompanied by allegations of fraud. According to local media reports, the pro-government Attorney General Tarek William Saab announced that 225 release orders had been implemented by Saturday.

The non-governmental organization Foro Penal, which classifies the detainees as political prisoners, counted 107 released prisoners by Friday evening (local time). According to Foro Penal, almost 1,900 people were arrested in the course of the protests, including around 70 minors.

After the election on July 28, the electoral authority, which is loyal to the party, declared the authoritarian head of state Nicolás Maduro the winner. The opposition in the South American country, however, spoke of electoral fraud and claimed victory for their candidate Edmundo González. The latter had fled to Spain in September and applied for political asylum there after an arrest warrant was issued for him in Venezuela.

Opposition leader María Corina Machado welcomed the releases. However, all those arbitrarily arrested must be released. "They are citizens who have suffered irreparable harm unjustly", she wrote on X.

SDA