By Deutsche Welle
08 Aug 2024, 02:23 AM EDT
Four journalists have been charged in Venezuela with the crime of “terrorism” after being arrested during protests against the official results of the July 28 presidential election – which declared President Nicolás Maduro the winner – the National Union of Press Workers (SNTP) denounced.
Through the social network X (previously Twitter), the union warned of an “illegal and arbitrary use of anti-terrorism laws” especially “against journalists and photojournalists detained during post-election protests.”
Two photographers, a cameraman and a journalist
The four journalists charged are photojournalists Yousner Alvarado and Deisy Peña, from Barinas (west) and Miranda (north) states, respectively; cameraman Paúl León, from Trujillo (west); and journalist José Gregorio Carnero, from Guárico (center), who, according to the SNTP, “have been prevented from swearing in (a) private defense.”
#ATTENTION “This is how photojournalist Deisy Peña arrives at the courts of the state of #Miranda to be charged with crimes she did not commit,” denounced the SNTP.
She was transferred from Los Teques to Ocumare del Tuy and today she was taken back to Los Teques to be presented #08Aug pic.twitter.com/NGOYqVZviE— NTN24 Venezuela (@NTN24ve) August 7, 2024
On Wednesday, the candidate of the largest opposition coalition, Edmundo González Urrutia, demanded “the cessation of persecution” and the release of those detained, when there are 2,229 people deprived of liberty since July 29, whom the authorities accuse of acting with “violence” and causing damage in public centers and other places, which entails several “crimes.”
Detainees accused of terrorism
On August 5, the vice president of Criminal ForumGonzalo Himiob, told the agency EFE that the “vast majority” of people arrested during the protests are accused of “terrorism,” according to a “clear pattern” identified by the NGO.
Ten days after the elections were held, the electoral body has not published the minutes certifying Maduro’s victory, as required by law, while the opposition released “83.5%” of these documents that show that González Urrutia won by a wide margin, as they described.
Keep reading:
- Maria Corina Machado’s collaborator broadcasts her capture live in Venezuela
- The number of people arrested for protests in Venezuela is growing: there are 2,229 opponents behind bars
- Venezuelan Communist Party accuses Maduro of carrying out a “policy of terror”