The dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela kept the manager of Amnesty International in the country, Manuel Finol, detained for almost three hours, detained as he was preparing to board a flight abroad.
The NGO reported the activist’s arrest in a post on X at 9:47 am (Brasília time) this Thursday (30). “Manuel Finol, long-time artist and activist, and manager of Amnesty International Venezuela, was detained at Maiquetía Airport [na Grande Caracas]. A DGCIM [Direção Geral de Contrainteligência Militar] informed him that his cell phone will be checked and that it will be transferred. We ask for your support. Manuel needs to be released now,” said Amnesty International.
At 12:13 pm Brasília, the NGO published another message, saying that Finol had been released. “He was detained at Maiquetía Airport and his work trip was prevented. We hope for the rapid return of his documents and the restoration of his right to free movement. We thank you for your prayers, actions and countless messages of support,” said Amnesty International.
The Venezuelan NGO Peace Laboratory celebrated the activist’s release on social media and denounced that “the authorities continue to use the cancellation of passports as a form of retaliation”.
In turn, the NGO Venezuelan Program for Education and Action on Human Rights (Provea) warned in X that the “pattern of persecution of human rights defenders in Venezuela” persists.
Likewise, the organization Justice, Encounter and Forgiveness stated that Finol’s release is an “important step”, but “it cannot overshadow the need to guarantee the protection of those who defend human rights and civil society” in the country.
On Wednesday (29), Orlando Moreno, national coordinator of the Human Rights Committee of the Vente Venezuela (VV) party — led by opposition leader María Corina Machado — reported that 43 people were detained for political reasons in the country in October alone, of which seven have already been released.
Through his report in X, Moreno detailed that, of the 36 people who remain detained, 22 are VV activists, eight from other political parties and six are members of civil society.
The NGO Foro Penal counts 875 political prisoners in Venezuela, according to a bulletin released on Tuesday (28), with data up to October 27.
