Six women were arrested in Venezuela for regularly locking a 13-year-old boy with a disability in a wooden cage, the republic’s attorney general said on Tuesday.
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“The relatives of a 13-year-old boy with a congenital disability kept him forcibly locked in a wooden cage, hungry and unable to meet other needs,” X wrote on his account (former Twitter) Attorney General Tarek William Saab.
He posted a photo of the cage used by the family, who live in a poor neighborhood in the city of Araure in northwestern Venezuela.
The cage, leaning against a wall, appeared to allow little movement and, according to the photo, was lined with sheets or rags on the floor.
“Those responsible will be charged with cruel treatment and criminal conspiracy,” he added.
The arrests came on Friday as part of a police operation alerted by neighbors, according to the local press, which reported that the boy had been regularly detained since he was six years old.
The child, who was “gagged” when help arrived, was locked up “in deplorable conditions in a homemade wooden cage,” said Luis Medina, minister of citizen security for the state of Portuguesa.
Residents and neighbors attempted to lynch the victim’s parents when they discovered the cage, Mr. Medina said.
Police have released footage showing the teenager being rescued and hydrated with an energy drink. According to authorities, the boy will be taken to a home in Caracas.