The Venezuelan authorities have communicated this Friday that more than 130 people imprisoned for political reasons will be released, in application of the amnesty law approved in February, which allows for the release of those who have committed crimes since 1999.
The Program for Peace and Democratic Coexistence has detailed that "alternative measures to deprivation of liberty have been granted for a total of 131 people who were under detention regime, for their alleged or proven participation in the commission of crimes provided for in Venezuelan law".
"The aforementioned measures were agreed upon by the courts of the Republic, at the request of the Public Ministry, after this Program requested the organs of the Criminal Justice System to evaluate the legal situation of persons prosecuted or convicted for crimes related to various attacks against democratic institutions, peace, and the development of the Republic," the agency indicated in a statement disseminated on social networks.
The NGO Foro Penal, which monitors the situation of persons deprived of liberty in Venezuela, had previously reported the release of 17 people, including the "political prisoner Emirlendris Benítez," imprisoned since 2018.
Amnesty International denounced in 2023 that, in her case, it was enough to share a car ride with third parties allegedly involved in violent acts for her to be detained and tortured. According to the organization, Benítez lost the child she was expecting and currently needs a wheelchair to move, as stated in a report on arbitrary detentions in Venezuela.
From the Committee for the Freedom of Political Prisoners (CLIPPVE), they have expressed their "immense joy" for Benítez's release, "unjustly detained," in a note published on their social networks, where they also conveyed their "deepest solidarity with all her family."
The organization has denounced that, during the eight years she spent in prison, the young woman "suffered multiple tortures that left her with serious health consequences," for which it has demanded "comprehensive reparations for all victims" and, in particular, for women, who have been subjected to "cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment."
"The fight does not end here. We remind you that there are still hundreds of political prisoners deprived of their liberty," the collective added.
The acting president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, announced at the end of January an amnesty law aimed at political prisoners who remain in the country's jails, as well as the closure of the Helicoide, a detention center managed by the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN) and pointed out by the opposition as a place of torture against dissenters, with the aim of transforming it into a cultural and sports space.