Arrests of Minors in Venezuela Amid Post-Election Protests

The arrests took place in the context of post-election protests in the country, after the National Electoral Council (CNE) announced Nicolás Maduro as the winner without presenting detailed results by center and polling station.

The Government confirms that the protests are being promoted by the opposition to create violence and destabilize the country, while the opposition forces deny this and accuse the ruling party of repressing demonstrations and trying to carry out what they consider electoral fraud.

Arrests of Teenagers

Gonzalo Himiob, lawyer and director of Foro Penal, told CNN that they managed to confirm the arrest of 142 teenagers between July 29 and Monday, and 58 of them remain in prison.

“This is data that we have to continuously contrast and confirm because there is no official access to the information”explained Himiob.

The crimes these teenagers are charged with are “incitement to hatred” and “terrorism,” although there are variations in many cases.

Prosecution Methods for Minors

According to Venezuelan legislation, young people are all under 18 and over 12 years old, that is, those between 12 and 17 years old. But they are only charged from the age of 14.

In these cases, prosecution methods are different to those of adults. They must be faster: they must be brought to court within 24 hours of their arrest, and the two hearings of the process (one of presentation, first, and then another preliminary, afterwards) must be a maximum of 10 a day after his arrest.

Conditions Not Respected

It ensures that these conditions were not respected in the cases of these minors. Even Himiob said they were able to verify cases of 13-year-olds who, although they had already been released, remained in custody although they could not be charged criminally.

“We even have young people with disabilities who didn’t even take part in the protests”he said.

Case of a Minor with Autism

The lawyer mentioned the case of a minor who is on the autism spectrum and was arrested on July 29 in Los Nuevos Teques, in the state of Miranda. He was at the door of his house when the demonstrations took place, not taking part in the protest.

Release of Minors

The last release of a group of minors verified by Foro Penal took place on Saturday, August 31, when 19 teenagers were released after their court hearings.

Concerns and Demands

The organization Justicia, Encuentro y Perdón, which monitors and addresses human rights violations in Venezuela, was of the opinion that “It is unacceptable that minors are arbitrarily arrested and abused in the context of their right to protest peacefully”and demanded the release “immediately” of those who are still deprived of their freedom.

Difficulty in Obtaining Data

“It’s definitely possible that there are more cases that we don’t know about yet. “Fear has played an important role in the difficulty in obtaining data”added Himiob.

The other factor is the fear of reporting it because of the possibility of facing retaliation. The director of Foro Penal confirms that the security forces and court prosecutors “tell them that if they report their cases, they will get worse, they will go to prison, or they will they are sentenced to the maximum penalty.”

Location of Detained Minors

According to this information, a large part of the minors were transferred to centers that specialize in criminal responsibility for young people.

Some were taken to the minor detention center of Caraballeda, in the state of La Guaira; and another important group was taken to the “Los Cocos” Youth Detention Center, in the municipality of Marino, Nueva Esparta state.