GENEVA: UN rights chief Volker Turk on Tuesday urged Venezuela to free all activists arbitrarily detained by the authorities for their “civic engagement.”
Turk told the Human Rights Council that since he last updated the top United Nations rights body in June, the situation in Venezuela had not improved.
“I urge the unconditional release of all those arbitrarily detained for their civic engagement — including Rocio San Miguel, Javier Tarazona, Carlos Julio Rojas, Eduardo Torres, and Kennedy Tejeda — their family members, and four adolescents who remain in custody after the 2024 elections,” he said.
The protests that followed the July presidential election, when President Nicolas Maduro claimed a third term despite accusations of fraud from the opposition and numerous countries, resulted in 28 deaths and around 2,400 arrests, with nearly 2,000 people released since then.
The rights group Foro Penal estimates that there are at least 889 “political prisoners” in the country’s prisons.
Turk said many people were being driven out of the country by intimidation and persecution.
“We continue to see sweeping restrictions on freedom of expression and peaceful assembly; arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances; as well as acute social and economic strain,” he said.
“The crackdown on civic space has intensified, suffocating people’s freedoms.
- Reprisals -
Turk said the Venezuelan authorities had stepped up reprisals against family members of those perceived to be voicing dissent, both within the country and abroad.
“Since July, my office has documented the detention of at least 17 people — most of them women, children, and older people — in connection with the activities of their relatives,” he said.
“The fate and whereabouts of 12 more family members remain unknown.”
In February 2024, Venezuela suspended the UN rights office’s activities in the country and ordered its staff to leave within 72 hours, just days after authorities detained lawyer and prominent activist Rocio San Miguel.
The office was able to resume its operations 10 months later, but Turk announced on Tuesday that it is currently without “international staff.”
“We have made every possible effort to restore our presence — including requesting visas and engaging with the authorities — but, unfortunately, without success.
“My office is always open to constructive engagement, and I hope the authorities will promptly enable my colleagues to resume all our activities in the country,” he said, without giving further details.
