Venezuela Rejects UN Call for Release of “Political Prisoners”

Venezuelan Ambassador before the United Nations (UN) in Geneva Jorge Valero denounced UN high official Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein who called for the release of the South American nation’s “political prisoners” last week. According to the Venezuelan Penal Forum (FPV) there are 97 in the country. The most emblematic cases include high ranking opposition leaders accused of promoting violence as a strategy for removing the elected national government.  During his annual presentation to the UN Human Rights Council, Al-Hussein remarked on Venezuela’s current political atmosphere expressing his “concern about the extreme polarization in Venezuela with continued restrictions on freedom of movement, association, expression and peaceful protest." More…