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Venezuela still holds hundreds of political prisoners -- dozens are minors

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Venezuela released more than a hundred political prisoners over the weekend. They had protested against authoritarian leader Nicolas Maduro, who was accused of stealing the July presidential election. Maduro's regime still holds about 1,800 political prisoners. As John Otis reports, they include dozens of minors. And a warning, this story contains the sound of gunfire.

JOHN OTIS, BYLINE: Seventeen-year-old Samuel Lopez (ph) was supposed to attend his high school graduation this summer in the western city of Barquisimeto, then start college. Instead, he's behind bars.

GLYSBELIS VASQUEZ: (Speaking Spanish).

OTIS: His mother, Glysbelis Vasquez, says her son was checking out the protests the night after the election. Vote tally sheets showed the opposition had won, but President Maduro claimed victory. That prompted angry Venezuelans to pour into the streets, where they set fire to government buildings and tore down statues of regime figures. Security forces moved in, and among those arrested was Lopez, who was charged with terrorism.

VASQUEZ: (Speaking Spanish).

OTIS: His mother says, "that's what I'm scared about, because he could be sentenced to 10 years in prison."

(SOUNDBITE OF GUNS FIRING)

OTIS: In postelection raids like this one, rights groups say that police and national guard troops cast a wide net, arresting nearly 2,000 protesters, opposition activists, bystanders and youths. They included nearly 100 detainees between the ages of 14 and 17. Most of these juveniles are being tried for terrorism, one of the most drastic criminal charges in Venezuela. Yet Alfredo Romero, who heads the legal aid group Foro Penal, says the Maduro regime itself is breaking the law by denying detainees access to private lawyers, as well as to the evidence being used against them.

ALFREDO ROMERO: You have to know why are you being accused, what are exactly the facts in order to know how to defend yourself. They don't even know what are the facts.

OTIS: Caracas attorney Carlos Trapani adds that minors are being sent before regular judges when they are supposed to be tried in juvenile court. What's more? He says the criminal charges are wildly exaggerated.

CARLOS TRAPANI: (Speaking Spanish).

OTIS: He says protesters may have committed vandalism or destruction of property, but that's not the same thing as terrorism. For his part, Maduro mocked his critics and called them crybabies.

PRESIDENT NICOLAS MADURO: (Speaking Spanish).

OTIS: Speaking on state TV last week, he said the jailed juveniles deserve harsh treatment. But amid rising international outcry, his regime freed 131 political prisoners over the weekend, according to Foro Penal.

(CROSSTALK)

OTIS: Among those freed were seven minors. However, they did not include the 17-year-old brother of Neirianny Camacho, who was locked up a few days after the presidential election.

NEIRIANNY CAMACHO: (Speaking Spanish).

OTIS: She says he was arrested simply because police found a video of an antigovernment protest on his cellphone.

CAMACHO: (Speaking Spanish).

OTIS: Camacho says her brother is deeply depressed and sometimes refuses food. He had planned to go to college to study civil engineering, but he stands accused of terrorism and could spend the next decade in prison. "They're cutting off his future," Camacho says. "They are damaging his life forever."

For NPR News, I'm John Otis.

(SOUNDBITE OF FABIANO DO NASCIMENTO AND VITTOR SANTOS E ORQUESTRA'S "REFLECTIONS") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.