Venezuela Awareness Foundation

www.venezuelaawareness.com

Press release

For immediate release

The Venezuela Awareness Foundation, hereby, alerts the international community about the increase of political prisoners in Venezuela during 2009

The number of political prisoners in Venezuela has doubled. There were 28 in the beginning of 2009, and only one political prisoner, Diana Mora Herrera, was released on July 6, lowering the number to 27. However, the list abruptly increased to 48 political prisoners due to the rise of political persecution and authoritarianism executed by Hugo Chavez’ regime, which has passed policies and laws that have been publicly rejected by Venezuelan citizens. They have pacifically protested, and the authorities’ response has been uncontrolled use of force, in violation of human rights and as a weapon to imprison and persecute people that oppose the government.

Civilians have been incarcerated for dissenting, government officials fabricate crimes to accuse innocent people, and even worse, government is turning protesting into a crime, when the right to protest is guaranteed in the Venezuelan Constitution. Sadly, Venezuela is now the second country with the most political prisoners, right behind Cuba .

In the first 10 years of Chavez’ regime, political persecutions were mainly against emblematical persons in which the direct intervention of the president was evident. However, in 2009 persecution has been extended to any person that opposes the regime, as evidenced by the latest cases of political prisoners. We fret over this because the Venezuelan regime does not provide due process, violations of human rights are alarming, and there is total impunity for government acolytes.

Venezuelans are totally defenseless. Constitutional guaranties are not granted anymore, so people are persecuted and jailed without due process, which clearly reflects the antidemocratic line of the current Venezuelan regime.