Rights group implicates Venezuelan security forces in post-election protest killings
Human Rights Watch also concluded that violent gangs aligned with the ruling party ‘appear to be responsible in some of the 24 deaths
A global human rights watchdog on Wednesday implicated Venezuelan security forces and pro-government armed groups in killings that occurred during the protests that followed the country’s disputed July presidential election.
Human Rights Watch, in a report detailing repressive measures the government unleashed after the vote, asserted that credible evidence gathered and analysed by researchers, forensic pathologists and arms experts ties Venezuela’s national guard and national police to some of the 24 killings that took place as people protested the outcome of the election.
The organisation also concluded that violent gangs aligned with the ruling party also “appear to be responsible” in some of the deaths.
Twenty-three of those killed were protesters or bystanders and one was a member of the Bolivarian National Guard.
“The repression we are seeing in Venezuela is shockingly brutal,” Juanita Goebertus, the organisation’s director for the Americas, said in a statement. “Concerned governments need to take urgent steps to ensure that people are able to peacefully protest and that their vote is respected.”
