BOGOTÁ (AFP) – Venezuelan authorities are committing “widespread human rights violations” against protesters, bystanders, and opponents in the aftermath of presidential elections the opposition says were stolen, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Tuesday.
The non-governmental organisation issued a report on the events that have transpired since July 28 elections in which incumbent President Nicolas Maduro claimed victory despite an outcry from the opposition and much of the international community.
It blamed Venezuelan authorities and pro-government armed groups known as ‘colectivos’ for killings, arbitrary detentions and harassment of critics following the disputed vote.
Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE), most of whose members are friendly to 61-year-old Maduro, declared him re-elected to a third six-year term despite opinion polls predicting victory for the opposition, which immediately cried foul.
The standoff sparked protests that led to the deaths of 25 civilians and two soldiers, according to official figures, with nearly 200 people injured.
The regime has blamed the opposition led by Maria Corina Machado and presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia for post-election clashes that also saw more than 2,400 people arrested.
But HRW Americas director Juanita Goebertus pointed the finger at the regime, saying: “The repression we are seeing in Venezuela is shockingly brutal.”
“Concerned governments need to take urgent steps to ensure that people are able to peacefully protest and that their vote is respected,” she said in the report.
The United States, the European Union and several Latin American countries have refused to recognise Maduro’s victory without seeing a detailed breakdown of votes cast.
