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Rights groups: Venezuela punishing protesters

By CHRISTOPHER TOOTHAKER (AP) – 5 days ago

CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuelan rights activists said Wednesday that President Hugo Chavez's government is using the courts to stifle protests.

Marino Alvarado of Provea, a prominent rights group, said more than 2,200 people, including dozens of labor union representatives, have been indicted on criminal charges stemming from their participation in protests over the last four years.

"The criminalization of protests has become a state policy, They are trying to instill fear so people don't protest," Alvarado told reporters after presenting a petition to the Attorney General's Office.

Espacio Publico and Cofavic — two other leading rights watchdogs — also signed the document that urges prosecutors to stop bringing charges against protesters.

Most have been charged with misdemeanors, Alvarado said. But some have been prohibited from joining future demonstrations and barred from leaving their hometowns or publicly discussing their cases.

Others face possible prison sentences. Fourteen employees who demonstrated for better working conditions at Sidor, the country's largest steel maker, are currently on trial and could be sentenced to as many as 10 years in prison for protesting within one of the plant's "security zones."

Juan Valor, one of the Sidor workers, said the trial could set an ominous precedent.

"If the judge rules that we are guilty, union leaders throughout the country could be jailed for organizing protests," Valor, a 49-year-old machinery operator and former union representative at Sidor, speaking by telephone.

Representatives of the Attorney General's Office did not answer telephone calls seeking comment on Wednesday. Government officials have dismissed concerns about the prosecution of protesters in the past, saying Chavez's administration fully respects the right to protest.

Venezuela's National Security Law allows as much as 10 years in prison for anyone involved in demonstrations within "security zones" ringing government offices, oil installations, military garrisons and other public facilities.

Another law punishes people who "prevent the production, importation, gathering, transportation, distribution or marketing of essential goods" with six to 10 years in prison.

Venezuelans are taking to the streets more frequently to protest unchecked crime, call attention to faulty public services or demand better working conditions, according to Espacio Publico — a local rights watchdog.

More than 750 protests were staged during the first four months of 2009, compared to 1,600 for all of 2008, according to Espacio Publico.