Venezuela has said another 177 imprisoned election protesters have been released out of the more than 2,000 people who were arrested during clashes after the controversial July 28 vote.
The announcement on Monday from Attorney General Tarek Saab would bring the total number of protesters released to 910, according to the Reuters news agency.
However, rights groups have said they have not been able to verify all of those said to have regained their freedom.
The groups say at least three protesters have died in custody since demonstrations swept the country after the national electoral council declared President Nicolas Maduro the victor, without producing the official tallies.
Pre-election polling had shown Maduro far behind opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez by a seemingly insurmountable margin before the election, and Maduro’s government has still refused calls from both the opposition and regional leaders to release data proving his victory.
Nevertheless, the Venezuelan Supreme Court later confirmed the win. Opposition figures have maintained both the electoral council and the court are dominated by Maduro loyalists.
As Venezuelans took to the streets demanding election data, at least 28 people were killed and nearly 200 injured in clashes with security forces, with hundreds more arrested.
As of early December, the Venezuelan rights group Foro Penal said there were 1,877 political prisoners.
In announcing the release of 103 election protesters on December 12, the citizen security service said that Maduro had instructed the government to review “all the cases concerning acts of violence and crimes committed in the framework of the election”.
Before that, the attorney general’s office said “precautionary measures” had been granted on November 26, allowing about 225 prisoners to be released but requiring them to appear before a court once every 30 days.
Last week, Venezuela’s attorney general said that another 533 election protesters had been freed.
ICC probe
The moves come months after International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan said he was “actively monitoring” the post-election crackdown.
The ICC has an open probe into the country related to violence following controversial Constituent Assembly elections convened by Maduro in 2017.
The releases also come just weeks before Maduro is due to be sworn in again for a third term on January 10. US President-elect Donald Trump is set to take office 10 days later, which could see a policy change towards Venezuela.
Trump surged sanctions during his first term, but has faced pressure to proceed more cautiously over concerns a redux could push Caracas towards China.
For its part, the administration of US President Joe Biden had relieved some sanctions as Maduro pledged to hold free and fair elections but put them back in place as the Venezuelan leader further cracked down on opposition in the run-up to the vote.
Since then, many opposition figures have fled the country.
Still, with several US citizens remaining detained in Venezuela, it was unclear if the latest releases were aimed at building goodwill with the incoming US administration.
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