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The director of the NGO Foro Penal, Alfredo Romero, reported that at least 80 political prisoners were released this Sunday (25/1) in .
At least 80 political prisoners were released this Sunday/ Photo: Reproduction
The organization, responsible for monitoring detentions in the country, stated that the releases take place after Nicolás Maduro’s regime collapsed, due to the president’s arrest.
“At least 80 political prisoners, as we are verifying, were released today across the country. More releases are likely to occur,” Romero wrote.
The NGO’s lawyer, Gonzalo Himiob, also highlighted that, despite the releases, more political prisoners are expected to leave Venezuela’s jails. He also said that the work is now focused on identifying these people.
“The work of verifying and subsequently confirming the disclosures is long and meticulous, and also involves ratifying the victims’ authorization for the disclosure of their data,” he said.
One of those released is a lawyer from the organization itself, who had been imprisoned since August 2024. Kennedy Tejeda Jiménez left prison by decision of President Delcy Rodríguez, who will have a meeting on Monday (26/1) with the UN High Commissioner, Volker Türk.
Process
The measures come after Delcy Rodríguez took over the government on an interim basis, due to the . Despite this new wave of releases, the total number is higher, as other releases had occurred previously.
According to the Venezuelan government, 626 political prisoners have been released since December, but these data differ from the NGO’s figures, which account for around half of the releases in the period.
Before this Sunday’s announcements, the Penal Forum had confirmed just 156 releases since January 8.
