Human rights activist Javier Tarazona and eight other Venezuelans were released from a Caracas prison on Sunday, according to a relative and an NGO, as families of detainees expressed frustration at the slow pace of releases, Reuters reported.
Prisoner releases have picked up pace since Venezuela introduced a release policy on January 8 following the capture of former President Nicolas Maduro by the US on January 3 during Operation Absolute Resolve.
“After 1,675 days, four years and seven months, when the day we wanted so much came, my brother Javier Tarazona is free. The freedom of one is the hope of all,” Jose Rafael Tarazona said on X.
Tarazona heads FundaRedes, an organization that monitors alleged abuses by Colombian armed groups and the Venezuelan military along the border between the two countries. He was arrested in July 2021 on charges of terrorism and conspiracy.
Those released were held at the Helicoide detention center in Caracas, a facility cited in a 2022 UN report as subjecting detainees to torture, which the Venezuelan government has denied.
Local human rights organization Foro Penal said on Sunday X that in addition to Tarazona, among the people freed from a Caracas prison were Italian Venezuelan Mauricio Giampaoli, political activist Luis Isturiz, farmer Victor Castillo, political leader Yandir Loggiodice, Willians Diaz, Rodrigo Perez, Omaira Salazar and Guillermo Lopez.
Read also | The return of US oil to Venezuela is turning into a delay
Gonzalo Himiob, vice president of the group, stated on X: “Every step towards freedom and the definitive end of repression is important.”
Foro Penal has claimed that over 300 political prisoners have been released in recent weeks, but estimates that more than 700 remain behind bars. Government officials, who deny holding political prisoners and say those incarcerated have committed crimes, put the number of those released at more than double that figure, though their total appears to include releases from previous years.
The government has not said how many prisoners will eventually be released, nor has it publicly identified them.
Interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez unveiled a proposed “amnesty law” for hundreds of prisoners on Friday, saying the Helicoide detention center would be turned into a sports and social services facility.
The families of the prisoners say the release process has moved gradually, and relatives and human rights groups are calling for the charges and convictions of those considered political prisoners to be dropped.
Opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado, who has many close associates still behind bars, has been vocal in pushing for their release.
Prominent figures who remain detained include opposition politician Juan Pablo Guanipa and lawyer Perkins Rocha, both Machado allies, as well as Voluntad Popular party leader Freddy Superlano. Among those freed is Rafael Tudares, son-in-law of former opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González.
(With agency input)