By Glorimar Fernández.
Mothers of the 13 Pemon detained since December 2019 for allegedly participating in a failed military uprising in the Gran Sabana region against the Maduro regime continue to raise their voices.
Some of the Pemon jailed were members of the Milicia Bolivariana, an armed corps formed by the former president, Hugo Chavez.
They are accused of being part of Operation Wey Pa’Ka, which began with the assault on the Luepa Army fort by a group of active and retired officers and Pemon natives.
You must read Natives Pemon jailed get suffering precarious health conditions: NGO
“We are the mothers of the boys detained, is hurting us very much that our children are there, we demand their prompt release. Please, listen to us and spread our voice throughout the world,” were the words of Felicia Perez, mother of one of the detainees, in a video she broadcast with Siloria Sosa, another mother of one of the Pemones and the coordinator for the Indigenous Peoples of the Penal Forum, Olnar Ortiz.
The Venezuelan native peoples have special law protection, which establishes that any crime committed by a member of an ethnic group can only be tried under Indigenous Peoples Law.
The relatives of the jailed Pemon claim the 2001 law is not being observed. Initially, they were jail in a military agency, the Dgcim, and then transferred to a common criminals prison, amongst other irregularities.
In all this time, they have not had access to medicines, clothing, and different foods sent to them by their families or to receive visits from their relatives who have made the trip from the Gran Sabana to Caracas, a journey of 808 kilometers, on several occasions to be heard.
