Venezuela releases some of the thousands arrested after the presidential election

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) – Non-governmental organizations in Venezuela on Saturday announced the release from prison of thousands of people who were imprisoned during and after the anti-government protests that followed the July presidential election, the results of which are still controversial.

Their release came a day after the attorney general, loyal to the ruling party, announced the review of 225 cases related to the results of the election, which President Nicolás Maduro and Edmundo González, who represented the opposition party, claimed to have won.

Venezuela-based organizations Penal Forum and the Venezuelan Prison Observatory announced the release of X. The former confirmed the release of at least 70 people, while the latter said the government released people under certain conditions, which it did not elaborate on.

Photos shared on social media by the Observatory show women crying and hugging their loved ones outside a prison in the South American country. The organization described the release as a “victory” and demanded that all those who remain in prison because of their role in the election and activities following its results be released.

Maduro’s government has been widely criticized for the failed election and the repression that followed, including the arrest of political leaders, lawyers, poll workers, election volunteers and protesters, both young and old.

The protests erupted after Venezuela’s election authorities declared Maduro the winner of the July 28 runoff and said they could not publish regional-level results because their database had been hacked. At the same time, the main opposition coalition announced that it had obtained the vote tally sheets of more than 80% of the voting machines used throughout the country, published them online and announced that the candidate, González, had defeated Maduro by a landslide.

Government arrest figures include about 2,400 people. Government officials, including Attorney General Tarek William Saab, strongly defended the arrest, but earlier this week, Maduro asked Saab and the judges to ensure “justice” in the event the case “needs to be corrected and reviewed.”