“I was screaming and crying”: stories of the terrible opposition of Venezuela
The participants of opposition rallies in Venezuela, detained by the police, and tell scary stories about how they did the guards. Hispanic service Bi-bi-si has collected several such stories.
They’ve never met and never imagined that they together will have to go through perhaps the most traumatic experiences in their lives.
According to court documents, 10 young people were detained on 15 may in the state of Aragua in the North of Venezuela near one of the areas where the protests took place against the government of President Nicolas Maduro.
“Put them in a row and was forced to grab each other’s intimate places. They were beaten, kicked and protective helmets used by the police. They were forced to dance “the Macarena”. Those who didn’t receive another shock. But that was not what they were subjected…” — said the Spanish-speaking service Bi-bi-si Mundo one of the lawyers of the detained ten young men, Martin Rios.
All this, according to him, occurred at the headquarters of the Venezuelan state of Aragua, 80 km North from the capital of Caracas.
In the recent wave of anti-government demonstrations — which began almost three months ago — there were more than 3,200 arrests, according to the NGO Foro Penal, aid entered prison.
As human rights activists, detainees often complain of torture, aggression, tyranny, violation of human rights and the current legislation by the police.
These violations — many of which came on the photo – and video — condemned even the Minister of defense of Venezuela Vladimir Padrino Lopez.
I don’t want to see the national guard committed acts of violence on the streets. Those whose behavior does not conform to the principles, should be responsible for their actions.Vladimir Padrino, Lisminister of defense of Venezuela
Bi-bi-si has tried to receive the comment of the Prosecutor General and the police of Venezuela by phone and e-mail.
The Prosecutor said that at the moment does not give interviews, and police requests Mundo did not answer.
Sexual torture
“What is happening in Venezuela, has no precedent in the modern history of the country, it is very alarming,” said Bi-bi-si, the leader of American trend, Amnesty International Erika Guevara.
After the arrest of ten young men shared.
“And one of them (whose name we do not call out of respect for him) has done something creatively cruel,” says Martin Rios.
According to the lawyer, a young man forced to kneel and tied his hands with wire.
He let pepper gas and put on the head cap. Then he pulled down pants and stuck a tube into the rectum.Martin Riksadvokaten the detained young men
Other prisoners could not see, but heard his screams, cries and calls for help, the lawyer says.
Case this 19-year-old boys engaged in the General Prosecutor’s office of Venezuela.
Bi-bi-si has received access to a document that describes all of these actions, and also learned about the existence of the document, according to which the judge demanded that the young man was immediately sent for medical examination.
Rios claims that the medical examination confirmed the fact that violence against boys. He said that the results of the examination were in a sealed envelope sent to the court and is now attached to the materials of the investigation.
“In the case of torture, the arguments in the form of official acts are conclusive evidence,” said Bi — bi-si the head of the NGO Foro Penal Alfredo Romero.
This is confirmed by Liliana Ortega, Director of the Committee of relatives of the victims (Cofavic), one of the first NGOs that defend human rights in Venezuela.
“This crime was not supposed to leave marks. Servants of dictatorial regimes came to court, despite the lack of evidence. Responsibility for the review of the incident lies with the authorities of the country in accordance with the conventions on the investigation of torture such as the Istanbul Protocol,” explains Ortega.