Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado accuses Venezuela’s government of selective justice as her lawyer remains detained despite a new amnesty law.
CARACAS: Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has denounced the government’s amnesty programme as an act of “selective justice”.
Machado stated that her close ally and lawyer, Perkins Rocha, remains in custody despite the law intended to free political prisoners.
The amnesty law was passed by interim leader Delcy Rodriguez under pressure from Washington. It aims to turn the page on nearly three decades of state repression following the capture of former leader Nicolas Maduro.
Maduro was taken to New York in January to face drug trafficking charges. The law is seen as an early milestone in Venezuela’s post-Maduro transition.
Machado, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, said Rocha has been detained since August 2024. He was arrested after scores were rounded up following Maduro’s contested re-election.
The 63-year-old lawyer remains under house arrest and must report to authorities every three hours. Machado posted on X that his amnesty request has been denied.
“To selectively deny amnesty is repression,” Machado wrote. She accused the Rodriguez-led regime of wanting to prolong terror by breaking the morale of democracy fighters.
“Perkins Rocha and all political prisoners must be fully released,” she demanded. “Not ex-prisoners, not defendants: FREE!”
Non-governmental organisations have also criticised the amnesty law as insufficient and unfairly applied. The legislation covers people detained in events dating back to a failed 2002 coup against Hugo Chavez.
It also applies to various protest cycles between 2004 and 2024, and for criticism posted on social media. The government claims more than 7,000 people have been granted full freedom under the scheme.
This includes prisoners in jail and those on parole. However, the NGO Foro Penal reported a different picture this month.
It said that while 690 political prisoners have been released since Maduro’s ouster, around 500 remain behind bars.
