Feb 1 (Reuters) – At least nine Venezuelans were released from a notorious Caracas prison on Sunday including human rights activist Javier Tarazona, a relative and a nongovernmental organization said, as families of detainees complained the process has been too slow.
“After 1,675 days, four years and seven months, the day we’ve so wished for has arrived, my brother Javier Tarazona is free,” Jose Rafael Tarazona said on X. “The freedom of one is hope for all.”
Prisoner releases have accelerated since Venezuela announced a release policy on January 8 in the wake of the U.S. capture of former President Nicolas Maduro on January 3.
Tarazona is the director of FundaRedes, which tracks alleged abuses by Colombian armed groups and the Venezuelan military along the countries’ border. He was arrested in July 2021, accused of terrorism and conspiracy.
The released prisoners were held in the Helicoide detention center in the capital Caracas, which a 2022 United Nations report said subjected detainees to torture, an accusation the government rejected.
Local human rights group Foro Penal said on X on Sunday that those released in addition to Tarazona were: Italian Venezuelan citizen Mauricio Giampaoli, political activist Luis Isturiz, farmer Victor Castillo, political leader Yandir Loggiodice, Willians Diaz, Rodrigo Perez, Omaira Salazar and Guillermo Lopez.
“Every step towards freedom and the definitive end of repression is important,” Gonzalo Himiob, vice president of the group, said on X.
The Venezuelan communications ministry, which handles press queries, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Foro Penal has said more than 300 political prisoners have been released in recent weeks and estimated more than 700 remain jailed.
Government officials – who deny holding political prisoners and say those jailed have committed crimes – have put the number of releases at more than double that, though that figure appeared to include releases from prior years.
The government has not said how many prisoners will be released or identified them.
Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez on Friday announced a proposed “amnesty law” for hundreds of prisoners, and said the Helicoide detention center will be converted into a center for sport and social services.
Families of prisoners say the releases have progressed too slowly, and relatives and human rights advocates have demanded that charges and convictions against detainees who are considered political prisoners be expunged.
Nobel Peace Prize winner and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who has several close allies imprisoned, has advocated for releases.
Prominent still-detained figures include opposition politician Juan Pablo Guanipa and lawyer Perkins Rocha, both close Machado allies, and opposition Voluntad Popular party leader Freddy Superlano.
Rafael Tudares, the son-in-law of former opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, is among those freed.
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
