A woman lights a candle during a vigil outside the Helicoide in Caracas, Venezuela, on Saturday. Relatives gathered in hope of the release of their family members after announcements made by the head of the Venezuelan Parliament, Jorge Rodriguez. Photo by Ronald Pena/EPA
Jan. 22 (UPI) — The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights said Venezuela continues to carry out a systematic pattern of politically motivated arbitrary detentions, accompanied by serious violations of due process and the human rights of people deprived of liberty.
Gloria Monique de Mees, the commission’s special rapporteur for Venezuela, said before the Organization of American States Permanent Council in Washington on Wednesday that the group has information that indicates “clandestine detention centers” still are operating in the country.
“The persistence of these facilities highlights the structural nature of the violations and the absence of effective institutional oversight,” de Mees said, according to a report by Infobae.
Despite the release of some political prisoners by the interim government of Delcy Rodriguez after the Jan. 3 capture of Nicolas Maduro in a U.S. military operation, the human rights situation in Venezuela remains alarming, the commission said. Its members have not been able to visit the country since 2002.
During the session, the United States called for the “unconditional release” of the 1,000 political prisoners it estimates are being held in Venezuelan jails.
“Approximately 1,000 people remain unjustly detained,” U.S. Ambassador Leandro Rizzuto said during the OAS session convened to address the issue of political prisoners, according to El Mercurio Online.
He said the United States “urges the unconditional release of all unjustly detained political prisoners.”
U.S. pressure after Rodriguez becoming interim president led to authorities agreeing to release political prisoners. However, families and human rights groups in Venezuela say the process has been slow and lacks transparency.
According to the human rights group Foro Penal, 777 political prisoners were held in Venezuela as of Monday. Only 143 have been freed from incarceration, but they remain subject to criminal proceedings and severe restrictions, which the commission said do not amount to full releases.
More than 18,700 political detentions have been recorded since 2014, according to the group.
According to a report presented to the OAS by rights agency Commissioner Stuardo Ralon, criminal law is being used as a tool of persecution and control through abusive pretrial detention, indefinite postponement of hearings, frequent changes of prosecutors and lack of access to effective legal defense.
The commission also warned about deplorable detention conditions, including isolation, incommunicado detention, lack of medical care, limited access to drinking water and food, prolonged restrictions on family visits, and reports of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, without effective investigations by the state.
The commission stressed the human impact of these practices, which affect not only detainees but also their families, including children, and cause lasting physical and psychological harm.
The rights group reiterated its call for the immediate and unrestricted release of all people detained for political reasons, an end to the use of the criminal justice system as a tool of repression, guarantees of an independent judiciary and the investigation and punishment of torture and ill-treatment.