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Venezuela frees 36 jailed opponents in Christmas gesture
Source: Reuters
#WORLD NEWS DECEMBER 24, 2017 / 9:46 AM / UPDATED AN HOUR AGO
Venezuela frees 36 jailed opponents in Christmas gesture
Andrew Cawthorne
4 MIN READ
CARACAS (Reuters) - Three dozen opponents of Venezuela’s socialist government were released from prison and reunited with their families on Sunday as part of a wider Christmas release, a local rights group said.
Lambasted by critics at home and abroad for holding around 270 activists in prison, President Nicolas Maduro’s administration said on Saturday it was freeing 80 of them with alternative sentences like community service.
Thirteen were paraded in front of TV cameras at a meeting with a senior official, Delcy Rodriguez. She harangued them for violence and subversion, but also wished them a happy Christmas.
Alfredo Romero, whose Penal Forum group tracks the detention of activists and protesters, said 36 “political prisoners” had been freed by Sunday morning. But he criticized the government for not giving a blanket amnesty.
-snip-
Venezuela frees 36 jailed opponents in Christmas gesture
Andrew Cawthorne
4 MIN READ
CARACAS (Reuters) - Three dozen opponents of Venezuela’s socialist government were released from prison and reunited with their families on Sunday as part of a wider Christmas release, a local rights group said.
Lambasted by critics at home and abroad for holding around 270 activists in prison, President Nicolas Maduro’s administration said on Saturday it was freeing 80 of them with alternative sentences like community service.
Thirteen were paraded in front of TV cameras at a meeting with a senior official, Delcy Rodriguez. She harangued them for violence and subversion, but also wished them a happy Christmas.
Alfredo Romero, whose Penal Forum group tracks the detention of activists and protesters, said 36 “political prisoners” had been freed by Sunday morning. But he criticized the government for not giving a blanket amnesty.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics/venezuela-frees-36-jailed-opponents-in-christmas-gesture-idUSKBN1EI0DQ
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