A relative of political prisoner Edward Ocariz was prohibited from visiting prison for making statements to the media

Sol Ocariz reported this week that the authorities of the Ministry of Penitentiary Service prohibited him from visiting his brother, the political prisoner Edward Ocarizin the Tocuyido prison because he continually uses the media to raise his voice for his family member and those of other detainees in the context of the electoral protests.

During a forum held on Tuesday at the Central University of Venezuela (UCV) in Caracas, the 64-year-old woman reported that she went to the penitentiary center located in the state of Carabobo last Monday, November 25, to attend a visit scheduled for the 11:00 am, however, they notified him that it had been postponed to 4:00 pm.

When he arrived at the scheduled time, a guard told him that by orders of the Ministry of Penitentiary Service he could not visit his brother, who is a human rights activist in the NGO Provea and former vice president of the organization of the opposition party Primero Justicia en Coche.

“Whoever appears in the media has visits suspended”was what they told Sol Ocariz in the Tocuyito prison, who assured that despite this he will not stop raising his voice for all the political prisoners in the country.

She pointed out that other women, like her, were not allowed to visit their detained loved ones, because they gave statements to the media.

«We are not going to remain silent. We are going to go ahead and tell everything that is happening in all the prisons. If we remain silent we give the government the opportunity to continue committing misdeeds and we cannot allow that, we have to raise our voices as the warrior, fighter and brave women that we are,” she stated.

COMPLAINT | Sol Ocariz, sister of Edwar Ocariz, activist and political prisoner in #Tocuyitoreports that she was mistreated and was prevented from seeing her brother yesterday #25Nov. Officials informed him that the visit was suspended by orders of the Ministry for the Penitentiary Service. pic.twitter.com/sGAvXjim6m

— Committee for the Freedom of Political Prisoners. (@clippve) November 26, 2024

Edward Ocariz, one of the more than 1,000 political prisoners accused of terrorism

Edward Ocariz, arrested on August 2 during post-election protestswas accused of terrorism, a charge punishable by imprisonment of 25 to 30 years; crimes of public scandal and incitement to hatred, stipulated in the Law against Hate, and which are punishable by imprisonment of 10 to 20 years; and disorderly conduct, which is punishable by a prison sentence of 3 to 6 months.

Since he was arrested there has been no clarity in the case because they have not allowed a private lawyer to be sworn in.

Sol Ocariz pointed out that in order to prepare the defense he needs to know what the file says. “There they have things that are not attributable to my brother. I can prove with facts and recordings when he was taken from his apartment and taken away by the police. Furthermore, I can demonstrate that he is a very beloved community leader, where even “They made him a rosary to ask for his well-being and liberation,” said in an interview for The National at the beginning of September.

The woman denounced that the government has violated her human rights and safety, as well as her physical and mental health.

A few days ago, he moved to the outside of the Tocuyito prison due to the promise of 225 releases, announced by the Prosecutor’s Office without offering a list of names. However, Edward Ocariz was not among the released prisoners.

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