He Inter-American Institute for Democracy and the Newspaper America They organized the forum this Thursday “Political prisoners in the dictatorships supporting the Russian invasion“.
exposed Lesther Deutschfor Nicaragua; Javier Larrondofor Cuba; Alfredo Romerofor Venezuela; Eva Sarah Landau, for Bolivia; And Luis Galeano, also for Nicaragua. The conclusions were made by Carlos Sanchez-Berzain and the moderator was Iliana Lavastida.
The initiation was made by Luis Gonzalez Posada, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Peru. “This conference is very important because it is linked to the importance of democracy“, started.
Gonzales Posada reviewed the critical human rights situation crossing different countries of the region. He recalled that there are 1,066 political prisoners in Cuba and that in Venezuela there are an estimated 269 political prisoners and 15,777 arbitrary detentions.
“In the case of Bolivia, there are an estimated 187 political prisoners, including former President Áñez and Santa Cruz Governor Luis Camacho. “There is a dictatorship of the MAS government, the government of Evo Morales,” he explained.
The lawyer and President of the NGO Foro Penal, Alfredo Romero (EFE/Rayner Peña/File)
Then came the turning point Alfredo Romero, Director of the Penal Forum of Venezuela. “It is unfortunate to say that this is one of the issues we are currently facing There is an international fatigue on the human rights situation in Venezuela,” he began; while he says: “The situation of political prisoners exists and is worse than on other occasions“.
Romero emphasized the effect “revolving door”It’s in Venezuela. “Political prisoners are constantly in and out of prison‘ he commented.
“The Penal Forum has included the category of political prisoners that we name foreign hostages. “Most are Americans,” he said.
Finally, he stressed that Venezuela is the only country in Latin America where a Investigations into crimes against humanity. “A systematic pattern of detention of people on political grounds has been denounced,” he stressed.
Lesther Aleman (EFE/Jorge Torres/File)
After Romero’s intervention, he spoke Lesther Deutsch, the young Nicaraguan arrested and expelled from the country by the Daniel Ortega regime. “I was only arrested because I thought otherwise‘ he said.
And followed: “Nicaragua is an open sky prison. As in Venezuela, we are also experiencing this revolving doorGiven that people are constantly in and out of prison for political reasons.”
Alemán reviewed what has happened since 2018, when protests erupted against the Daniel Ortega regime; and recalled what happened that year when the Sandinistas expelled dozens of political prisoners from the country. “The government has arbitrarily stripped me and dozens of other political prisoners of their citizenshiphe said.
Javier Larrondo, President of Prisoners Defenders, thanked the organization of the forum and described the Cuban case. “The Cuban people already know they are in prison. The government of Cuba is a criminal clan, it is a mafia and the people know they are criminals‘ he stressed.
Then he said that Cuba is one of the countries in the world that “more supports Russia’s criminal massacre of Ukraine”; while he expressed: “Cuba is the third largest country in the world in terms of the number of enforced disappearances. At the moment, There are 1,048 political prisoners on the island“.
“On average, There are 22 new political prisoners every month. The detention of minors is common in Cuba. They are locked up in prisons with regimes similar to those of adults. “Everyone is tortured,” he denounced.
For his part Eva Sarah LandauPresident of Global Human Rights, condemned this There are currently 258 political prisoners in Bolivia. “Leading opposition figures are being persecuted and imprisoned‘ he hinted; while he was saying that There is no respect for the rule of law.
“The Bolivian dictatorship is married to Russia. Reasons for supporting Russia include anti-imperialist values, financial aid and fear of retaliation from Russia if it publicly condemns the invasion of Ukraine,” he said.
He concluded by pointing out that the lawyers of the Bolivian political prisoners are being prosecuted. “We can only continue to denounce what is happening.”“, he concluded.
Meanwhile, the Nicaraguan journalist Luis Galeano condemned the “criminal and bloody regime” by Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo. “I come from a country where there are still more than 100 political hostages, including a bishop, Rolando Álvarez.“, started.
“When the dictatorship decided three months ago to exile more than 200 political prisoners, they were left in the dungeons 37including the aforementioned Álvarez,” he said.
Galeano hinted at that During Holy Week there were numerous kidnappings of people who want to show their faith on the street. “Last week, More than 57 people became political prisoners. You are under house arrest‘ he denounced. He also spoke of the revolving door in Nicaragua: “Some leave, others enter.”
Carlos Sanchez-Berzain was responsible for the conclusions of the forum. “The title of the forum is reminiscent of objective reality for the world to stop ignoring the facts of reality and clearly identify the enemy of freedom and democracy,” he said.
He thanked the lectures that were heard in the forum and pointed out that the dictatorships in the region are doing something state terrorism. “This state terrorism was exported from Cuba to Venezuela, Nicaragua and Bolivia“, he explained.
“State terrorism, political prisoners, revolving doors, prosecuted lawyers for political prisoners… This has to stop,” he concluded.
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“Quo Vadis Brasil”: A colloquium of leaders and scholars explored the prospects for democracy in the South American power. Presidents, former heads of state and leaders of the region participated in the Defending Democracy in America forum.