The National Assembly of Venezuela suspended the session scheduled for this Tuesday in which the final approval of the amnesty law was expected, a rule that the Delcy Rodríguez regime had promised as the key step for the mass release of political prisoners in the country.
The amnesty bill had passed the first of two regulatory debates in Parliament last week.The final approval was scheduled for this Tuesday, but the Legislative Secretariat reported the suspension of the session and confirmed that parliament will meet on Thursday, although without announcing what the agenda will be.
The postponement occurs amid social expectations and international pressures, especially from the United States, which demands the total release of detainees for political reasons as a condition to advance in new negotiations.
The head of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, had assured on Friday that, once the law was passed, “they will all leave that same day,” in reference to the political prisoners.
The promise was made before relatives of detainees who were waiting for the approval of the rule outside the cells of the National Police in Caracas. The law covers cases that occurred over almost 30 years of Chavista governments and was presented as a measure of national reconciliation after the capture of drug dictator Nicolás Maduro by US forces in January.
Chavista Delcy Rodríguez, in a televised speech this Monday, insisted on the need to “include all sectors of the country” in the consultation process of the legal project.The text has been reviewed by political representatives, jurists and members of the judicial system, in an attempt to expand its legitimacy and respond to the claims of victims and civil organizations.
According to the Penal Forum, since the announcement of the release process on January 8, a total of 426 people detained for political reasons have been released.However, the organization and other sectors of civil society warn that the figure is insufficient and demand guarantees for the effective application of the law once it is approved.
The National Union of Press Workers (SNTP) took advantage of the postponement to reiterate its demand that the amnesty law explicitly recognize the persecution of journalists and guarantee that criminal law is never again used to criminalize the exercise of journalism.
Marco Ruiz, general secretary of the union, stated that the union presented to Parliament a project that recognizes the judicial, digital and physical persecution suffered by press workers in recent years.
Ruiz pointed out that, currently, there are 59 journalists prosecuted in Venezuela, including four still in prison and two under house arrest, in addition to at least 20 communicators exiled for fear of reprisals.
The union initiative also includes protection against “fabricated” crimes and requests that the amnesty cover those who have been persecuted for exercising freedom of expression.The union warned that there are numerous cases of journalists who have left the country or have had their passports annulled, without notification of judicial proceedings against them.
The suspension of the parliamentary session maintains uncertainty about the immediate future of the political prisoners and about the response of the interim regime to local and international pressure.The ruling party called a march for Thursday to commemorate Youth Day, while expectations grow about the advancement of the law and its actual application.
The consultation process and debate around the amnesty have become a space of confrontation between Chavismo, the opposition and social organizations, which insist on the need to expand the scope of the norm and guarantee its compliance.
(With information from AFP)
