Venezuela says it frees 99 people held over 2024 election protests | World News
A commuter descends the stairs of a subway station in Caracas, Venezuela. (AP) Venezuela says it has freed 99 people who were detained after protests over the 2024 election, in what it calls its biggest prisoner release this year, The Guardian reported. The government says those released were people “deprived of their liberty for their participation in acts of violence and incitement to hatred following the electoral process of 28 July 2024”. It also says the move shows its “commitment to peace” and its “unrestricted respect for human rights”, at a time when it says the country faces “an imperialist siege and multilateral aggression” from the United States. Civil society groups have responded with care. They say the releases help those freed, but are not enough, because many people are still in prison. Rights groups say there are at least 900 political prisoners in the country. One group, Justicia, Encuentro y Perdón, said the selective nature of the releases shows that detention is being used “as an instrument of political persecution”. The group said the …
