Some 1,072 people have been detained since the presidential election on Sunday, July 28, according to prosecutors, a figure that has some non-governmental organizations concerned, who have denounced the six-element standard being applied.

“We have information that at the national level, they are not allowing private lawyers or NGO lawyers to participate in hearings or to defend people detained during the recent protests in Venezuela,” the NGO Venezuelan Action Program for Human Rights Education (Provide) said this Thursday, August 1, in your X network account.

Marta Tineo, General Coordinator of the public organization “Justice, Encounter and Forgiveness”, noted that this practice is accompanied by telematic hearings and that detainees are forced to receive public defenders with all detainees accused of the same crimes.

“We warn that these are collective hearings in which there is no individualization of the alleged crimes,” Provea said.

The NGO Justicia, Encuentro y Perdón also said that authorities are not providing information about the status of those detained or allowing contact with their families, who, after ongoing searches, find out where they are.

“Terrorism is a savage crime that consists of detaining those who demand their rights,” human rights lawyer Joel Garcia told El Pitazo.

According to the lawyer, among those detained are passers-by who were passing by the protests and are now behind bars for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The Basic Law on Organized Crime (Terrorism) will be applied to them.

Buses on the streets

García stressed in a telephone conversation that another pattern of behavior is the presence on the streets of groups that repress and attack people who have come out to express their dissatisfaction with the results of the National Electoral Council (CNE).

“So they hide behind the fact that this is not the responsibility of the State, because they are not the security forces that carry out these actions, but we know that civil groups act with the tacit consent of the State, which also constitutes a crime against humanity, and this is what we see. This is a pattern of behavior,” the lawyer added.

He pointed out that the state in some way encourages and protects these armed civilians because they have police officers on their side. “They do nothing against these people who are armed, although carrying weapons is prohibited in the country,” he said.

“Justice”, “Meeting” and “Forgiveness” stressed their concerns about the violations associated with these processes. “They violate constitutional mandates that enshrine the fundamental rights and guarantees of citizens,” he said.

“We condemn the clear violations of the rights to defense and due process enshrined in Article 49 of the national Constitution. We reiterate: protest is not a crime,” Provea said.

Likewise, Justicia, Encuentro y Perdón demanded that the authorities respect the basic principles of justice and guarantee a lawful, fair and transparent process for all those detained. “They must be provided with adequate legal assistance,” the NGO insisted.

Finally, the NGO Justicia, Encuentro y Perdón called on the international community to be attentive to these situations and to act in solidarity with those whose fundamental rights are violated.