Following the contested Venezuelan election, of which President Nicolás Maduro has claimed victory, there has been a widespread pattern of mass arrests across the country. Lawyers from Foro Penal, a foundation dedicated to the defence of human rights, have been offering pro bono legal counsel to many of the arrested protesters. However, they have been systematically denied access to their clients and corresponding case files, rendering it nearly impossible for them to carry out their professional duties.
Foro Penal’s team, consisting of over 300 lawyers and 6,000 volunteers and activists, operates throughout Venezuela, providing pro bono legal assistance to individuals who have been arbitrarily detained. Their mission is to promote respect for human rights and to offer support to victims and their families. Since the protests erupted in Venezuela, at least 1814 individuals have been detained, including at least 114 children, for allegations of ‘terrorism’ or ‘incitement to hatred’, when exercising their rights to freedom of expression, and of assembly and association. Despite their efforts to assist those unjustly detained, Foro Penal lawyers are systematically barred from carrying out their legitimate professional functions of representing their clients and providing legal advice.
Lawyers from Foro Penal have reported a widespread and systematic denial of the right to a fair trial and to an effective defence during criminal proceedings. These lawyers have expressed that they are denied access to their clients in detention for weeks, who are kept incommunicado, as well as to their case files. In addition, detainees have been denied the right to access legal counsel of their own choosing, even when expressly requesting to do so. In these cases, the signed powers of attorney submitted by Foro Penal lawyers are routinely disregarded by State authorities, who instead impose specific lawyers on the detainees. State-appointed lawyers often fail to provide effective and independent legal representation, with numerous reports indicating that presentation hearings proceed without any substantive defence being offered.
Lawyers also expressed that their attempts to perform their professional duties may lead to arbitrary detention and criminal prosecution. Disturbingly, on 2 August 2024, 24-year-old Foro Penal lawyer Kennedy Tejeda was last seen at the Comando Rural de Montalbán detention centre in Carabobo, where he was arrested as he sought to assist his clients with pro bono legal advice. In the first 20 hours following his arrest, Kennedy’s whereabouts were unknown. Allegedly, an official in Montalbán informed Kennedy’s mother of his arrest and transfer to the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence in Valencia, Carabobo. No reasons were given for his detention, although sources claim he is accused of “terrorism” and “hate speech.” Kennedy has more recently been transferred, together with other political prisoners, to the Tocorón penitentiary in the Aragua State (hours away from his home). He continues to be held incommunicado, without access to a lawyer or his family.
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