IACHR calls for immediate release of all political prisoners in the Americas

January 6, 2025

Washington, DC – The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) calls for the immediate release of all political prisoners in the Americas, in a context of arbitrary judicial persecution and conditions of detention that violate their rights.

The IACHR has long monitored arbitrary arrests to persecute individuals who are critical of incumbent governments based on political and ideological grounds and individuals who legitimately exercise their rights to freedom of expression, assembly, and association, or who defend human rights. Authoritarian governments who subject the administration of justice to the interests of the executive often resort to these practices. Political prisoners face violations of their right to due process, as well as an excessive use of pretrial detention.

These practices have been documented at least in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. In Cuba, there were 1,148 political prisoners in 2024. In Nicaragua, 36 individuals remained incarcerated in the context of the crisis that started on April 18, 2018. In Venezuela, there were 1,849 political prisoners at the end of 2024, 1,572 of them arrested during or after the demonstrations around the presidential election of July 28, 2024.

During 2024, the IACHR documented deplorable conditions of detention and patterns including a lack of official data about detainees' location and conditions of detention; a lack of access to drinking water and adequate food; unsanitary conditions; a lack of medical care; and restrictions concerning visits and mail.

In Cuba, four individuals who had been arrested for being involved in the demonstrations of July 11, 2021, allegedly died in jail. At a public hearing about the rights of older persons, the IACHR received information concerning the lack of care to address the needs of older political prisoners, in terms of health and mobility among other issues. In Nicaragua, the IACHR documented arrests without the required court warrants and without providing official information about the detainee's whereabouts, which amount to forced disappearances. The IACHR is also concerned about lack of information about indigenous leaders Brooklyn Rivera and Steadman Fagot, who are beneficiaries of protection measures granted by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the IACHR.

Political prisoners are more vulnerable to ill-treatment and torture, including being held in isolation or incommunicado and being subjected to physical, psychological, and sexual violence (particularly in the case of women).

In the past, the IACHR has stressed that women who are political prisoners for their work as rights defenders or for taking part in protests are often subjected to various forms of torture as a way to obtain information from them or to punish and humiliate them, both when they are arrested and while they are deprived of liberty.

The IACHR stresses that all individuals have the right to be protected from all forms of unlawful or arbitrary deprivation of liberty. Further, States must protect the lives and personal integrity of all individuals who are deprived of liberty. This includes providing official, up-to-date information concerning these individuals' situation, ensuring conditions of detention that respect human dignity, and enabling visits and regular, direct contact between detainees and their families.

The IACHR further stresses that penitentiary services must adapt to the needs of older persons to overcome negligent medical care, a lack of physical accessibility in incarceration facilities, and difficulties to preserve family ties. States must also adopt a gender perspective and a differentiated approach to prevent, fight, and punish all forms of torture and ill-treatment, paying special attention to those committed against political prisoners.

In this context, the IACHR urges all States in the Americas to ensure full respect for judicial guarantees and the fundamental rights and principles held in the American Convention on Human Rights and the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, which must be contemplated in all criminal law proceedings. The IACHR further urges States in the Americas to immediately release all political prisoners.

The IACHR is an autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS) whose mandate is based on the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. Its mission is to promote and defend human rights throughout the Americas and to serve as an advisory body to the OAS in this area. The IACHR consists of seven independent members elected by the OAS General Assembly who serve in a personal capacity and do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 006/25

4:00 PM