The authorities of Venezuela 135 people linked to the opposition candidate’s campaign have been arrested Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutiathe president’s main rival Nicolas Maduro in Sunday’s elections, the NGO Foro Penal, dedicated to the defense of political prisoners, denounced on Friday.
“Since January until now, there have been 149 arbitrary arrests for political reasons (…) 135 are directly linked to what was the national tour and the actual campaign of María Corina Machado with Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia“, its director, Gonzalo Himiob, told AFP.
“Most of them have already been released from prison, some of them without even having been brought to trial, but 47 remain deprived of their freedom today.“he continued.
Machado, represented on the ballot by Gonzalez Urrutia After his political disqualification, he has denounced an escalation of repression against the opposition campaign, his team and his trusted collaborators, six of whom are currently sheltering in the Argentine embassy.
Among those arrested were also merchants and businessmen. Authorities have also closed down establishments that have provided services to the opposition.
The Venezuelan election campaignwhich began on July 4 and ended this Thursday, has been marked by allegations of repression and arrests of opponents, whom the government accuses of planning to ignore the results and seek “violence” to overthrow him.
To date, the Penal Forum has 305 “political prisoners” in Venezuelaof which 30 are women.
Source: Gestion
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