22 more Venezuelan prisoners have been released, Reuters reported, citing a statement by the non-governmental organization "Criminal Forum" (Foro Penal).
On January 8, the Venezuelan government announced that it was starting to release people that human rights activists define as political prisoners. "Criminal Forum" on Wednesday said that a total of 350 prisoners had been released since then. Later in the day, the non-governmental organization said it had confirmed the information that 22 political prisoners were now free. Among them is journalist Rory Branker.
According to the Venezuelan government, there are no political prisoners in the country and the detainees have committed criminal crimes. Authorities also said they had released about 900 people, but did not give a clear timeframe and the number appeared to include previous years, Reuters noted.
The government has never officially announced how many prisoners it plans to release, nor has it published lists of names. Families of those imprisoned say release procedures are taking too long.
According to the "Criminal Forum", there are still about 700 political prisoners in Venezuelan jails.